An Unworthy Partner: v1
by AvaJane17
Summary: *DESERTED - NEW VERSION NOW UP*Marriage Law! Fred was saved and thrust into the new law the Ministry has reinstated, with Hermione. Together, they overcome social obstacles and find something they never believed would happen with one another. Coming back from war, the Trio find love and begin life in safety. Hermione/Fred Harry/Ginny Ron/JK Character
1. Hermione Saves Fred

**A/N: Hi, so I've never written anything Harry Potter related, but I've gotten to reading the Marriage Law fanfics, and I have to say I'm completely hooked on the idea. I'm also a big lover of Fremione, so if that's not for you, so sorry. I like to think I'm good with British idioms, but I may have lost my touch: so if you see any mistakes, I do appreciate having them pointed out. **

** Anyways, this is post-war, Fred isn't dead (because I can't believe that actually happened), I'll try not to Ron bash, but he's pretty dunderheaded in my opinion. But, let's see how this goes!**

**BTW, I'm not J.K. Rowling, no matter how much I wish it.**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

The world had gone black within seconds of the last green flash Fred had witnessed shooting out of someone's wand. Percy, noticing the same green spell out of the corner of his eye, was motionless as he desperately tried to move himself towards his brother. His mind had already deducted the small probability of actually reaching Fred in time to help him. And he was right, of course. He was at least three feet away still when the green flash was intercepted by a dazzling blue, causing the deadly spell to ricochet into the wall behind their assailants. The stone wall of the crumbling school didn't stand a chance, and collapsed without a fight, successfully covering the two Death Eaters the brothers had been dueling. Percy only had a second to look to his right, where a small witch with too-bushy hair was ready to flee the scene, either to continue to help, or grab help for them. He waved her away, collapsing next to the lonely twin, waving his wand over him in an easy spell meant to detect any casualties or anomalies in a wizard's body. The witch only hesitated another moment before being pulled away by a different red headed Weasley, and losing sight of the two already laying on the cool stone.

Fred opened his eyes to a different spell, a hazy gray making its way up from his chest. He couldn't move quick enough to stop it from entering his chest, and filling his lungs with air he suddenly needed desperately. His chest heaved with the force, and he shot up into a sitting position, Percy moving quickly to aid him, "Bloody hell, Perce. Whadya do that for?" The stiff boy only smiled, his whole body relaxing, and gathered his younger brother in a huge hug, one he hadn't given in too long a time. Fred could only return the hug, knowing he was only too lucky to even be breathing anymore.

"Come on Percy," Fred mumbled into the curly hair currently pressed to his face, "We need to find the others." the stiffness returned, and with a curt nod, Percy stood up heaving Fred's heavy body with him. Collecting both wands, and stuffing the Death Eaters wands in their pockets, the two Weasley's set off towards the Great Hall, hoping it would be over.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The Golden Trio was relaxed in the corner of the Great Hall, clutching each other in death grips, and trying to catch their breaths. No one was looking at them, something none of them were completely used to, especially Harry. Their hands were full of each other, barely any part of them untouched by the others. Hermione sat on the step in front of her boys, Harry's hand clutched in her right, with Ron's whole left leg pressed against her side. Ron's arm was slung over Harry's shoulders in a comforting manner, while Harry had slumped forward to lay his forehead against the back of Hermione's bushy hair. And Hermione's free hand was fiddling with Ron's shoe, occasionally grasping at the toes. They were all three staring at different points in the room, not really focussing on the object of their stares.

"It's gone," The black haired, soot covered boy finally mumbled into their silence.

"What is, Harry?" Hermione answered, knowing Ron wouldn't be able to muster more than a grunt right now. The blow he took in the Chamber had winded him for quite a while, and she was sure he still wasn't feeling quite up to moving around yet, let alone holding a proper conversation.

Harry shifted from her hair, smoothing it down gently before sitting up to lean against the wall behind them, allowing Ron's arm to drop from his shoulders, "His voice, and the pain in my head." Neither of them asked who it was he was referencing. None of them wanted to say his name so soon, as if to jinx it if they did.

"Let's see then," Hermione asked, pulling his head down, and the fringe away from his eyes. The scar that would have usually met her was much more subtle than before. The angry puckered lines had smoothed substantially, making it looked more like a crease from a pillow he'd laid on for too long. It was still an obvious scar, but not as daunting as it had been for the past seventeen years he'd had it. "Harry, it's practically gone." His hand went up to his head in a practiced manner, brushing his hair to the side to ghost his fingertips along the lightning shaped scar.

"Thank Merlin! That means he's really gone." Ron sighed heavily, as if the last weight he was carrying had dropped from his shoulders. Harry only nodded before slumping, exhausted, back onto Hermione, this time resting in the crook of her neck.

The wide doors of the Hall suddenly slammed open, making every occupant jump in fear. The trio leapt to their feet, wands at the ready, too accustomed to this than should be necessary. Luckily, their reflexes were unneeded, as the open doors revealed a new trio of Weasley's, looking unharmed, but beaten down as the rest of the hall. Harry seemed to perk up, and Hermione noticed it must have been because of the lovely and fiery Ginny, standing tall under her brother's dead weight. Hermione froze for a dreaded moment, not yet realizing if the brother between Ginny and Percy was, in fact, dead or alive. His shuffling feet as they moved through the crowded room gave her great relief, knowing Molly had all her children safe and sound again.

Speaking of the matriarch, the portly Mrs. Weasley was hustling through the crowds of onlookers, towards her last three children, gathering them in one huge hug. Ron squeezed Hermione's hand before finally breaking their triangle and moving towards his mended family. Harry instead grabbed for the hand he had dropped while preparing to fight, giving her a quick tug towards the red headed clan. They moved much slower, allowing the family to cry and hug in peace before intruding. Mr. Weasley had brought the rest of his sons over, and they had all joined the group hug. Hermione couldn't help the smile that pulled at her lips, seeing her adopted wizarding family still whole. She admitted to herself that the thought of losing even one of them almost tore her in two. It was why she had forced Ron to make that detour towards where Percy and Fred had been duelling. And a good thing too, she had managed to throw that deflection spell just in time, otherwise Fred may not have _walked_ into the hall today.

Harry must have decided they were watching for too long, as he shifted towards Mrs. Weasley, notifying her of the two standing outside of her circle. With a small cry, she bustled them in, practically suffocating Harry between her and Ginny, and throwing Hermione in between the twins and Charlie. With Harry readily occupied between Molly and Ginny, Hermione was left to receive hugs from George and Charlie, the latter who spun her around in a massive, dragon sized hug. Once she was let go, Fred received her in his arms, curling the long limbs completely around her tiny frame, curling one hand around her hip and the other grabbing the back of her head. She had never received such a hug from one of the twins before, but she returned it gratefully.

"Thanks, Granger." She relaxed now, realizing this was a thank you for saving him.

"You're welcome Fred. I'm glad I helped." He pulled away, dropping her curls but keeping his arms wrapped safely around her. He looked like he would continue their conversation, but his twin turned around then and demanded their attention, "Oi Gred! Don't hog Granger. I want a turn too!" And with that, she was transferred through the Weasley circle, landing lastly beside Mrs. Weasley. She was gathered in a motherly hug, looking over her shoulder to see everyone smiling at her. And Fred, he was tapping his finger against his lips, imploring her to understand. She nodded once, just barely moving her head against Molly's cheek, but he seemed to pick it up. If he didn't mention it, neither would she, better not to worry the poor woman. And she wouldn't, if he didn't want her to.

Fred and George watched the trio be passed around, making sure to bump them as they went by, smirking as they jostled Ron a little too hard into their dad. The scowl thrown over his shoulder lacked the usual amount of malice, but they ignored it, smirking back as one, all three secretly happy to still be able to smile to one another. And if George noticed Fred's less than casual stare directed to a certain witch, he wouldn't mention it unless his other half did first.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Alrighty that ends the prologue! This was meant as an intro to our story, on how Fred survived and the relationships between all. I'm not sure how long each update will be, but I'm sure this length or more is to be expected. **

**Hope it was alright, I enjoyed it. I don't think I've ever written something so quickly before, I'm glad this is working for me. **

**-AJ**


	2. A Law Is Reinstated

**Thanks for all the wonderful attention you guys! Glad this story has caught on so quickly. I probably could have gotten through this chapter a lot faster if I didn't have real world problems like jobs and sleep, and tumblr. **

**Anyways, this is about a week after the Great Hall scene. Hope you enjoy and let me know how you liked it!**

**BTW, I've kept Hedwig too, because she made me cry just as much as Fred.**

** And no, J.K. Rowling isn't anywhere near my name… legally. My mind is a whole different matter.**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

Life at the Burrow had slowed down considerably in the following week. The day after the war at Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley had hustled everyone to her home, no exceptions for anyone. Though Charlie didn't even live in the country, Bill lived with a pregnant Fleur at Shell Cottage, and the twins shared the flat over their shop in Diagon Alley, they all stayed without complaint. Fleur had even moved in to share a room with her husband, despite how uncomfortable she must have been in the full house. Charlie seemed rather ecstatic to be home, but Hermione couldn't decide if it was because of the war, or if he had missed his mother's cooking. Looking at him now stuffing his face with potatoes, she quickly decided it must be more for the food. Honestly, the Weasley boys could eat more than the entire wizarding world. Only, now maybe that wasn't a good parallel with the war having such a horrible impact on the wizarding population. She took another look around the overflowing kitchen table and tried to ignore the new burning in the pit of her stomach, just from imagining any of them not sitting at this table anymore.

George tossed another roll over his twins shoulder at Ginny and Harry, trying once more to break the two apart. All he achieved was a nasty sneer from his baby sister before her lips were occupied once more. He sighed, realizing it wasn't going to make a difference how much he meddled; the two were going to be completely inseparable.

"I really want to clock him,"

"Too bad he saved the world." Fred smirked at him, grabbing the tossed roll from the seat beside him and ripping half of it to give to George. They sat in silence for more than thirty seconds, contemplating together if they could let the fact that their sister was snogging someone right beside them go. One look at the other decided it, "Never," They chorused together.

"What are you two on about now?" They both looked up to see Hermione watching them from across the table. A quick look at her plate showed Fred she still wasn't eating properly, pushing the food around more than actually eating it. She was doing that a lot this past week, pretending to eat, coming down stairs early in the morning and going to bed much later in the night. Her face was still gaunt, showing the round circles under her eyes, and her cheekbones stuck out from her normally rounded cheeks. He couldn't deny that Hermione Granger was a small witch to begin with, but now the femininity of her size was gone, leaving only a frail little thing in her shadow. Not that he'd told George, but his twin seemed to pick up on his musings of the little witch. They had been trying to feed her more often than even their mother, pushing seconds and sometimes thirds, watching as she passed them through her lips. Whenever she made tea, they would add biscuits to her tray before sending her off to read and eat. She'd never said anything, but the gratitude in her eyes when they poured another helping of food to her plate was thanks enough for him. No one knew what those three had done all those months they were gone, but Fred suspected they had all sacrificed something at one point. Hermione had sacrificed her health for her best friends.

"Nothing to worry yourself about, Granger," George started up, shoving the rest of his roll into his mouth.

"You just stick to your plate,"

"We'll handle the lovebirds." Ginny finally took the hint and moved off Harry's lap, tucking into her plate of potatoes and roast. With a smug grin, George also started towards finishing his plate.

Hermione sighed and spun her potatoes around the tongs of her fork, having lost her appetite a few minutes ago. Food still didn't look appetizing in large amounts, her stomach unfit to shovel more than a quarter of the amount in front of her. She took a few more minutes to push the meat to the side, and then back again to be smothered in potato. Her cup suddenly moved an inch or less to the left, catching her attention. She looked up, to meet warm brown glaring at her. The twin's eyebrows were already raised in silent demand, '_You eating that?'_

With a heavy sigh, she picked the fork up and pushed a mash of potatoes, carrots and meat into her mouth, forcing it down with a sip of her drink. She admitted to herself that her stomach was feeling better tonight than it had for quite some time. The fork seemed to lift on its own now, feeding her more of the dinner Molly had slaved over. As the small witch continued to eat, she missed most of the family watching her out of the corner of their eyes, making sure the food actually went into her instead of dropping back to the plate. The only ones who seemed oblivious to Hermione's malnourishment was Charlie, who hadn't been around long before the war began to notice. She may have noticed the twins concern, but the rest of the houses worry was a secret to her.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The next morning moved around her like a dream. Ginny woke up before her, like she did every morning to go downstairs and talk with Harry before the rest of the house woke up. It seemed the Boy-who-lived had turned into the Boy-who-never-slept. Hermione wasn't sure he had slept a full night since the battle at Hogwarts. The second night at the Burrow, she and Ginny had tried to stay up with him until he fell asleep which only led to the two girls crashed on the couch, and Harry jumping around filled with caffeine. Since then, Ginny had woken up earlier in the morning to meet her boyfriend downstairs, to talk or whatever they did in the quiet house. It didn't matter to her anymore, as long as her best friend was happy, and he could relax somehow. She must have fallen back to sleep after Ginny had left because when she opened her eyes again, the sun was against her bed instead of the wall. Forcing herself to get out of the wonderfully warm haven she'd created for herself, Hermione shuffled around quietly, fining her robe and slippers. Usually the Burrow was bustling with noise by now; Mrs. Weasley should have been dragging her boys down to the kitchen to make them help, and then sending someone up to get her.

Ginny's bedroom door creaked when she opened it, the sound echoing across the third floor hall. No noise was coming from downstairs, an extremely uncommon occurrence, one that made Hermione instantly aware of her surroundings. She slipped her hand into the extra lining of her robe, touching the familiar wood she hadn't put down since Hogwarts. Making sure to miss the trick step on the way down, Hermione crept down the long staircase carefully. She could see the fireplace already burning in the living room, empty besides Hedwig sitting prettily on the window ledge. She continued to move through the room, passing Hedwig, causing the snowy owl to coo to her. Shushing her quietly and continuing on, Hermione passed through the kitchen doorway with her wand now in her hand.

"What the bloody - " A twin and Ginny were sitting at the kitchen table, a small breakfast spread in between them. Hermione froze when she saw them, honestly not expecting anyone she knew to be in the house. Ginny still had a piece of fruit half raised to her mouth, staring at Hermione with a look between shocked and amused. The twin, Fred, she decided by the two ears, was beginning to grin while looking slightly more concerned for her.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ginny placed the fruit back on her plate, moving to stand up.

"No, nothing Ginny, don't worry. I just didn't hear anyone down here." She went to sit across from the two red-headed siblings.

"So you assumed we needed saving?" Fred chuckled now, watching her stick her wand back into the slit of her robe. The glare she sent him could have made a Death Eater turn tail and run. "I assure you, Granger, we can handle ourselves."

"No, but sorry for having reflexes leftover from the war we just went through." Hermione grumbled, grabbing a muffin from Fred's tray. The Weasley's both looked properly chastised now, Fred even cringing a bit when she reached for his plate again. "Sorry," she mumbled into her second muffin.

"No, don't worry Hermione. Everyone is still asleep actually. I should have woken you up earlier." Ginny told her, finally finishing her fruit. Fred picked up his mug, hoping the girls would ignore him now.

Hermione seemed further flummoxed, "They're asleep?" Ginny nodded, using her wand to remove the empty dishes so as not to leave the conversation. Harry still sleeping seemed very strange, and she had to wonder if maybe he was getting better, or if Ginny had sent him back to bed.

"Mom and dad were invited to the Ministry for today, remember? They were sent that super official looking invitation?" She did in fact remember the invitation, but had forgotten the date on it. The Weasley's had gone to the Ministry, along with all the other wizarding parents it seemed. They had a very specific date and time on the invite, which Hermione took to mean each family was being told something one at a time rather than all at once. None of the kids in the Burrow had known what the event was, or why exactly everyone was being summoned to the Ministry like this. It didn't seem something that happened often in the wizarding community.

"When were they supposed to be back then?" Hermione asked now, getting up to make more tea. Fred got up as well, grabbing his now empty mug.

"Oh, like you don't already know Miss Bookworm." The next glare sent his way was significantly less fatal than the last.

Once the tea kettle was set up, the three sat back around the table, chatting. Hermione wasn't sure why Fred was still sitting with them, and talking with them. It wasn't often the twins were apart from each other, and they had been closer in the last week than Hermione had ever seen them. Seeing one part of the duo away from the other for a long amount of time was strange, but she found she rather enjoyed talking with both of them when they were apart from each other. George was the literal big brother from a story book. With so many Weasley males, it was hard not to have a few of them become brothers, but George took the job more seriously than the others. With her and Ginny spending so much time together, George had taken to asking Hermione things when he asked Ginny. She'd also been the subject of a few more pranks, all much more toned down than the rest of the Weasley's besides Ginny. Fred on the other hand, talked a lot more with her, whether she was with Ginny or anyone else. She was pretty sure more of her conversations in the last three days had included Fred than they did Harry or Ron. Though, thinking back, Ron hadn't been very talkative in the past week with her. Fred would make sure she and Ginny were comfortable, or in Ginny's case, Harry was more than a foot away.

After another half hour of talking, hoping not to wake the rest of the house and have to cook for them, the floo made a popping noise, signalling someone coming through. Ginny popped up to check, coming back in with her parents. Hermione cleared them a space, moving Mrs. Weasley into a seat. Mr. Weasley sat himself down beside his son, slumping comfortably into the chair. Fred and Hermione together made two cups of tea as Ginny began to question them about the Ministry. Mrs. Weasley thanked them warmly, but Hermione missed the odd look Mr. Weasley gave Fred as he sat back down beside her.

"Mum, just tell us." Ginny's whine shook Hermione from her thoughts, bringing her back to the present company. For the first time since they'd sat down, Hermione took note of how very frazzled the two looked. Molly especially was huffing a little, her fiery hair frizzed like she'd run her hands over it continuously. Neither said a thing, Mr. Weasley tending to his tea, avoiding eye contact when she looked at him. Hermione turned to the matron, setting her smaller hand over Mrs. Weasley's, "Molly?"

The name snapped her out of the state she was in, as she rather loved Hermione and Harry calling her 'Mum' or 'Molly'. "Yes dear, sorry. We just have some rather difficult, um, news, for all of you actually. Ginny dear, could you wake your brothers for us? And get Harry as well, the poor dear. I suppose we'll be the ones to tell him." Ginny didn't answer, just frowned a little at her mother and Hermione before moving up to the bedrooms.

"Mum?" Fred asked, moving his and Hermione's mugs away from them to the counter behind him. Molly smiled at him, and Hermione.

"Yes dear?"

"Please tell me what happened?" He asked it so quietly; Hermione could only assume he was pulling a magical puppy eyed look at his mother. One she knew for a fact worked wonders when Molly was withholding sweets or food. It didn't work this time, as Molly only shook her head at her son, looking down at the table. The obvious avoidance was strange to both of them; Mrs. Weasley was not a shy woman.

"Dad?" Fred turned to his father, hoping to gain some information. Arthur Weasley took the same road as his wife, shaking his head and staring at the tea mugs in the center of the table.

"Oh Freddie," Mrs. Weasley whispered, twirling her fingers through the knitted cardigan around her shoulders. Fred looked at Hermione, both of their eyes reflecting each others concern.

"Is it the house? Hogwarts? Did something happen to someone? Please, for the love of Merlin, someone answer me!" Mrs. Weasley was watching the two of them now, pain and concern showing through.

"Freddie," she whispered again, gaining both of their attention. Hermione was basically hanging off her every movement by now. "They reinstated that terrible law." Fred threw his hands up, looking to Hermione for an answer. She could only frown, unsure which law she could have been talking about.

"The Marriage Law Fred," Mr. Weasley burst out, louder than the current conversation, shocking Hermione a little before she could register what he had said.

"What's a marriage law?" Fred looked like he would pull out his hair soon. Hermione was sure Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could see the realization dawning in her eyes, as the connection was made in her mind.

"The Marriage Law, states that all unmarried wizards and witches between the age of sixteen and thirty must marry in order to bring the wizarding population higher after the war." Fred was frozen now, his mouth hanging open at his father.

"Then we," he stopped, unable to form the words in his shock.

"Have to get married." Hermione finished for him, needing the words to be said. Mrs. Weasley nodded, tears coming to her eyes.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**And that's the freaking ending to that! Holy cheese balls, this literally took me since last week to write. I was so stuck at first on how to continue; I've just sat at my desk for the past six hours to work on this and get it done. I needed to get this out for you, with the reviews and follows I've gotten it's been wonderful. So I slaved over this, and hope you love it as much as I ended up loving it. Hopefully this is how long all the chapters will end up being, but it really depended on how I'm feeling about the context of the chapter.**

**See you later!**

**AJ**


	3. The Marriage Law

**Hehehehehahahehehaha! You guys are so cool. I've started writing this the day after I posted the last one, that's how wonderful all the attention felt. I've been dragged around all day and was taken away from my computer, and I basically dragged my feet until we got home, got rid of the company, and got to sit alone, like a hermit, and write for you. **

**And you know, I don't really know what I'm doing besides Fremione and Harry/Ginny, so if there are any ships or couples you want be to pair together in the story, definitely review me and tell me which ones you'd like me to do. If I get too many ships for one person, I will have to choose, so just keep that in mind. **

**Enjoy, review, remember I don't own this series cause I'm basically a lowly house elf.**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

The Burrow was in an absolute riot. Ginny had brought the rest of the house down, and while Fred and Hermione stayed shocked in the corner of the kitchen, Arthur and Molly had filled in the rest of the Weasley children on their new law. The chaos that ensued after was ear shattering. Mrs. Weasley held herself back from pulling out her wand and setting a silencing charm around herself to block out the noise. George was about as shocked as Fred was, if only a slight bit angrier than his twin. Ron's face had turned an interesting new shade of purple, his voice heard high above the others. Her little girl, Ginny, who had turned sixteen just before the war and therefore was being sucked into this bit of hell with her brothers, was chattering towards Hermione, the poor dear, who was only staring at Ginny. Harry didn't seem able to do anything other than gape like a fish, watching the yelling match going on between Charlie and Percy, which looked like Charlie was getting the higher hand in.

Hermione still couldn't seem to say anything. The past Marriage Law was running through her head as she tried to remember all the rules and regulations it included. As she recalled, there weren't many cases of witches or wizards getting out of the law, which didn't bode well for any of them. This law had been passed over a hundred years ago during the first war, and she couldn't figure out how she hadn't seen this coming. Perhaps she did, but didn't anticipate it happening so soon. Mr. Weasley was beginning to look rather flustered, but none of the other Weasley's looked to be calming down any time soon. Mrs. Weasley had been glancing longingly at her kitchen stove for the past five minutes, probably hoping to step away from the madness. Another minute of people yelling over each other and Hermione rolled her eyes to the left, breaking her staring contest with the table. Bill was seated at the other head of the table, with Fleur looking rather frightened next to him. His eyes met hers and they seemed to make a quick understanding with each other.

"Ronald, sit down. Ginny, come here." Hermione commanded, rather quietly compared to everyone else. To her utter amazement, the two youngest stopped what they were saying to stare down at her. It didn't take them long to understand and sit down immediately, causing the rest of the table to cease their rants and take a seat. Silence filled the Burrow for one blessed moment, and Bill couldn't miss the grateful look his mother sent towards Hermione. Another moment of silence before Mr. Weasley cleared his throat, gaining his children's attention.

"Now," he started, trying to keep his voice down, "obviously, this is not something any of us want. But according to the law, it's something you all have to do."

"Dad, this is complete bollocks." Charlie stated plainly, not even flinching at his mother's glare.

"Charlie, there is nothing I can do. Nothing you can do. Your mother and I have spent the entire morning with every other eligible witch and wizard's parents, debating this whole ruddy thing." Arthur was very obviously trying to keep the colour out of his face, but it was beginning to look rather peaky. No one else said anything, so Hermione decided she had better pick up the conversation to lessen the awkwardness of this whole meeting.

"Mr. Weasley? May I ask something?" It wasn't quiet, but she didn't hold back this time. Everyone but Harry and Ron looked a bit shocked that she spoke up during this, but then, no one else knew how hard headed she really could be. "What exactly are the regulations for the law?" She decided to ignore the adoring look Mrs. Weasley sent her way for keeping the peace a little longer.

"Yes, of course. I can tell you just a few basics now; the Daily Prophet will be posting everything about it in tomorrow's paper."

"Yeah, now would be great, dad. Then everyone can complain now and leave the awkward silence for tomorrow." Bill mumbled from his seat, settling in to listen to his sibling's woes. Ginny's glare matched her mother's previous one almost to a tee.

Arthur started up, shifting to make his self comfortable for the talk, "Every young witch and wizard between sixteen and thirty are being matched up for marriage within the next year. The Ministry is trying to match up couples within two or three years of each other," Ginny looked unbelievably relieved. "Starting tomorrow, everyone eligible has a week to give the Ministry notice of a previous engagement, or any couples already together that want to stay together in an immediate engagement."

"Aren't all the engagements going to be 'immediate'?" Fred piped up, not even waiting for George to speak up with him.

"Fred, you know what he meant." Hermione shushed him, lightly tapping his elbow as punishment.

"Yes, I suppose they are. But after the week is over, any one not involved will be put into the, well," Arthur stumbled for the word.

"Raffle?" George and Fred both said. George looked rather happy they said the same thing. Arthur nodded at the term, unable to come up with anything better.

"So, basically, we get thrown with someone we've never met before and expected to love each other, and have a family within a year?" Ginny was back to being angry. "What if a couple isn't together yet, but want to be now? Are they just not eligible to have the immediate engagement?"

"I really doubt they care if you love each other, Gin-Gin." Charlie mumbled, managing to pull a very impressive pout. Hermione was beginning to be quite irritated with the whole Weasley brood.

"Charles Weasley," Mrs. Weasley started up again, but Hermione beat her to it.

"Enough, everyone! As much as we all hate this, it is happening, and it is happening to us all right now. So if you all wouldn't mind, I would like to hear the rules so as not to be thrown into Azkaban." Her outburst was met with complete silence throughout the Burrow. Hedwig didn't even chatter once. Finally, Ginny cracked a smile and let loose a tiny laugh. It must have set some kind of switch, as Ron started to laugh with his sister and Harry let in a few small chuckles. Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to understand the humour in this, but also didn't seem to want to stop their mirth. George leaned in to her, giving her a saucy smile she'd seen him sport when he teased first years, "Granger, I don't think I've ever been more attracted to you. The bossy bit is definitely a turn on."

"Honestly George, behave." Hermione frowned, still not laughing with everyone, but appreciating the fact they could still laugh, even if it was at her. Arthur turned to Hermione solely, knowing she couldn't interrupt him now.

"Hermione," he smiled at the bright young witch, "I assume you read about the last law that was passed like this?" She nodded eager to get on with it.

"It was mentioned in my book-"

"Hogwarts: A History." Ron and Harry chorused together, not missing a beat. She glared at them while Fred and George gave them incredulous looks. "Go on 'Mione."

Hermione didn't pause either, "Yes, and I looked it up to be sure it was what I assumed it was." Arthur was nodding with her.

"Yes, it is the exact same law. This time around they're being a lot more lenient with the previous engagements. Giving you a chance to choose is a big step they took, and I'm sure Kingsley was a large part of that. Every couple has a different time limit depending on their circumstances, but everyone will be married within the next three months. And the Ministry is hoping in the next year there will be at least one pregnancy between married couples."

"Oh Merlin, I'm going to be a mom." Ginny groaned, flopping back in her seat. Every one of her brothers looked somewhere between humoured or mildly disgusted.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The next morning was somber and quiet for everyone. Bill and Fleur were still fast asleep, leaving the rest of the home to sit silently at the breakfast table. Mrs. Weasley was running around moving food from one person to another. Ginny was sitting rather cheerily compared to yesterday, talking with Harry like she did every morning with him. They had obviously been up for a while, judging by the awareness in Ginny and the two empty cups of coffee in front of them. Ron was slumped over the table, significantly less happy looking than his sister and best friend. His hair was standing straight up, managing to look just like Harry's on a good day. Hermione couldn't help but smirk at the curl behind his ear sticking straight out to curl into a horn. She skipped up to Molly to take her cup of tea before it could be handed to her, and passed the next set of biscuits, hoping it would calm Mrs. Weasley down for the morning. Molly only smiled and patted her on the cheek fondly, continuing to pass food to her children. Fred and George bounded down as she took her seat, settling down for the long morning of waiting. George took a seat to her immediate right, while Fred grabbed the two cups Molly was turning around with to hand to the twins, shocking her before making her smile warmly. He winked cutely at his mother, and handed the second cup to George, and sat with his on George's right.

Hermione tried to keep the ambiance of the whole kitchen, so she picked up the copy of Witch Weekly and flipped through it without really reading anything. She must have zoned out for longer than she thought, as the next moment Fred was taking a seat right next to her.

"Hermione," his voice rumbled very close to her ear, startling her from staring at the picture of what she was sure was a Nargle. "Have you eaten yet?"

"I'm having tea, Fred." She lifted the half empty cup; making sure he realized he'd overlooked the obvious.

"You're not going to eat my lovely mother's beautiful cooking she slaved over all morning?" He gasped in mock astonishment, grabbing two of said biscuits. Handing one to her, and leaving it hanging between them as he began to snack on his. Hermione couldn't say no to Mrs. Weasley's cooking half the time, but now coupled with Fred's big sad eyes she couldn't say no. She snatched the bread, and began to nibble on it.

"That a girl," He smiled, turning to face the table, and noticed what she was reading. "Uh, Hermione?"

"Hmm, what, what's wrong?"

"What are you reading this for?" He couldn't seem to keep the grin off his face. Hermione snapped out of her lull, dropping the biscuit a little from her mouth.

"What?" She looked down at the magazine to find out what he was talking about.

Witch Weekly had apparently gotten news of the Marriage Law before the journalist witch at The Daily Prophet had. The fashion/gossip magazine had been considerably quiet in the last week since the war had ended. Now it seemed they were back with bells on, with the next three pages filled with the same article; The Golden Trio. Her, Harry and Ron were all over the pages, their relationships, past and present being picked over and analyzed. Harry's article was the longest, going over any of the girls he even spoke to during their time at Hogwarts, and an unhealthy long one of her and Harry being matched together. Ron's mentioned her as well, with an extra debate on whether they could even be able to stay together with Harry being in between them. She goggled over the accusations and pondering, reading and rereading each one. Fred nudged her, moving her attention to the article he was pointing to now. The scream of indignation she felt run through her head must have been out loud, as Ginny was right beside her now, with the rest of the boys looking at them oddly.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" She pushed the magazine closer to Ginny, ignoring Fred's unhappy groan. Ginny took the magazine from the table to pull it right in front of her face.

"Who will be the future Mr and Mrs' to the Golden Trio?" Ginny began reading aloud, aware everyone was watching her now as she continued to read for everyone, "The Wizarding World has been debating over who the lucky witches and wizard will be to be paired with the famous Golden Trio. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger have been placed into the pool of eligible witches and wizards being married within the year. Fellow students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have leaked a few likely candidates the trio will most likely be paired with. Article continued on page thirteen." Ginny stopped talking to look at the Golden Trio themselves, all watching her with a look of disgust, anger, and confusion. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all continued to stare until Ron broke the silence.

"Why do they care who _we _get paired with? Harry I get, but me?"

"Ron," Ginny sounded very patronizing, making the twins snicker, "You three are the most famous people aside from Voldemort himself right now. Harry may be slightly better known, but you two aren't exactly invisible anymore."

"You're telling me! Look at the pic they shot of our Hermione." George stated, leaning over Ginny's shoulder to look at the next page. Ginny flipped it quickly, her eyes growing large at whatever was next. Hermione felt her breathing stop for a moment, dreading the next article that was apparently about her. Before she could grab it out of Ginny's hands, Fred snatched it first, laying it back on the table between him and Hermione.

The picture was massive. It was the one of her at Bill and Fleur's wedding, not that she knew how they could have gotten this picture. The smaller, but no less daunting picture, was one of her coming out of Hogwarts after the battle, wearing her battered denim and coral pink. Her hair was a riot in the last, and coiffed and pretty still in the first. Numerous lines and quotes were floating around the pictures, stating how she had done her makeup, or curled her hair. She zoned out, not wanting to read her rise to fame any longer.

"Merlin Hermione, you've really become the Gryffindor Princess, haven't you?" Fred murmured, causing Hermione to let loose a low groan and flop her head dramatically onto the magazine.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The Daily Prophet came very late that morning, most likely due to the extra copies being published for the families that wouldn't normally receive the newspaper. Since then, Fred had been reading to everyone the candidates for the trio's future spouses. Ron's hadn't been a very long column, so Fred had moved onto Harry. After twenty names or so, including Hermione and Ginny, he'd gotten bored and moved eagerly to Hermione's names.

"Viktor Krum! There he is! I was beginning to wonder if they'd forgotten the bloke!" Fred crowed eagerly, pointing to the famous quidditch player's name. Hermione made sure he missed the eye roll she shot his way.

"Fredrick Weasley, leave the poor girl alone." Mrs. Weasley patted her on the back, hoping she would raise her head off the table for her to place the rest of the eggs down.

"It's here! I can see Hedwig!" Percy announced from the kitchen window where he'd been waiting since coming down from his room. Everyone quickly cleared the tabletop, Harry grabbing the owl treats from the counter for his owl. Hedwig landed in perfect form, her beautiful wings brushing Harry's arm before she nipped at his fingers lovingly. He untied the paper and tossed it to the table, where it stayed and was stared at.

"Is anyone going to pick it up?" Charlie asked with his spoon lifted halfway to his mouth. Fred finally picked up enough courage to slide it towards him, and deposited it in front of Hermione. It took her another moment before lifting her head to see everyone looking at her, and Fred smiling.

"Why do I have to read it?" She refused to believe that came out as a whine.

"Because you have the most beautiful reading voice, love," Fred grinned charmingly.

"And we love to watch you speak, darling Hermione," George chimed in, continuing to try and butter her up.

"Oh shut it you two. I'll read it." She cleared her throat and unrolled the paper, showing the huge front page.

**THE DAILY PROPHET**

**NEW MARRIAGE LAW REINSTATED**

**Minister of Magic Kingsley Shaklebot and the Wizengamot have made the courageous decision to reinstate the Marriage Law last seen a couple hundred years ago. The Ministry has released the official rules to the Daily for every witch and wizard to see and understand. The rules are as follows:**

**1\. Each wizard and witch between the ages of sixteen and thirty will be coupled together in marriage. The Ministry will pair said couples together within three years of each other. Appointments can be made with a Ministry official to be paired from a previous or existing engagement.**

**2\. Couples must inform the Ministry of their wedding date, which must be within five months from the day they receive the name of their partner. All marriages must be officiated by a Ministry official. **

**3\. Married couples must produce one magical child within a year after the marriage date. If one or both partners are in school, the couple may wait for an extra year after graduating before conceiving children. Failure to conceive may cause in couples being rematched to ensure further magical children. **

**4\. Divorce will not be tolerated and adultery can end in a year in Azkaban. **

**Any further questions or inquiries can be owled to the Ministry, or appointments may be set up starting this week. **

**Appointments with Ministry officials to choose previous engaged partners may start this afternoon. **

**Letters with unmatched partners will be sent out next week after the appointments have been adjourned. **

Hermione stopped reading once she reached the end of the article, wetting her lips to keep the dryness away. No one looked incredibly happy, and no one said anything for a long while. Mrs. Weasley finished serving the breakfast, while Harry suddenly stood, taking Ginny's arm.

"Gin, can I see you for a minute?" She nodded, though she looked thoroughly confused. Hermione smiled at her friends as they passed her. George took the paper from her, to flip to the quidditch section. Fred grabbed the plate of eggs and an empty bowl, filling it almost to the top. He then snatched a fork and handed it to Hermione. She gave him a look; one he knew meant she was only doing this to appease him. She took the fork out of his hands and took a large portion of the eggs. As she chewed, Fred took the fork and took a bite for himself. They continued to eat the eggs, her more than him she realized, until the bowl was empty and she felt much better.

"Thanks,"

"No problem." He paused, spinning the fork around in the bowl, "Hey Hermione, I was-"

Ginny burst back into the kitchen, the door hitting the wall on the other side in her excitement. Her hair was sticking up at her ears, and her eyes were wider than she'd ever seen them, and looked like she was crying.

"Harry and I are getting married!"

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**God that was freaking long! It just wouldn't stop, and I couldn't stop it when I should have. I need to get the Daily Prophet out there, and then I didn't know how to end it. So I was like, "Let's start up the Hinny!"**

**Anyway, had a four day weekend off from work just now, and figured I could finish this; which I did. **

**Let me know what you all thought! I'm so excited!**


	4. Ron

**I'm officially sniffling and getting my celebrity glasses on to hide the tears. You people are beautiful, thank you for reading my thingy! I haven't gotten a single bad review, and everyone has been helpful and encouraging. Gives me a weird tingly feeling. **

**Things are finally getting interesting, now that I've gotten past the introduction stuff. Now hopefully the names will be sent out in this chapter, but honestly I don't know what I'm writing until it happens, so they could show up, they might not. I've no idea, hopefully they come up. **

**oh and I apologize, I've noooo idea when Fleur got pregnant with Victorie, so for all intents and purposes she is four months along here.**

**Enjoy, read, and love it like I do!**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

Ginny looked ready to fall over from her spot in the doorway. Mrs. Weasley was screaming a little, fluttering her hands towards her daughter as every one of her sons jaws dropped. Hermione couldn't help the giggle passing through her lips before clapping her hand over her mouth. Ginny gave her a grateful little smirk, while Fred nudged her ribs with his elbow.

"Oh my Ginny, oh, love, I'm so happy. Where's Harry? Not hiding in the living room I hope. Harry dear, come in, come in!" Mrs. Weasley practically ran into the other room, pushing Ginny to the side, not that she noticed in her haze of happiness. Hermione finally took pity on her friend and stood to fold her into a hug. Ginny collapsed rather thankfully into her friends arms, her hands shaking as she grabbed the back of Hermione's over sized Weasley sweater. The girls received all the sweaters the boys grew out of between Christmases, so the one Hermione was wearing today had large 'G' on it. Ginny didn't like to wear George's old sweaters because they had the same initial, and she didn't want people to think her mother had messed up her sizes. So as a general rule, Hermione usually took in both the twins' sweaters.

"Hermione, I can't tell if I'm breathing." Ginny sighed into her ear, and Hermione couldn't stop the large smile that took over her face. Fred and George were miming they wanted a hug now, having gotten over their shock.

"Gin, this is good. Be happy. Breathe. Hug your brothers." She pushed the girl backwards, right into the grinning twins' arms. The boys enveloped her in a huge hug, missing a bashful Harry stepping into the kitchen with a weeping Mr. Weasley on his arm. Hermione smiled even larger, and opened her arms for her best friend. Harry fell rather suddenly into her, unknowingly miming his fiancée. The crushing hug seemed to help them both, Harry relaxing into her, and Hermione feeling a rush of happiness for her friends. This was incredible; this would solve at least one of their problems. Ginny wouldn't have to sit up all night with Hermione now, fretting over losing Harry because of the stupid Ministry, and being lumped with some stranger for the rest of her life.

"Harry, thank you so much." Hermione whispered into the mop of black hair.

"For what?" he whispered back, digging his nose past her frizzy hair to reach her ear.

"For helping her. She's been freaking out, and worrying you wouldn't want her." He sighed, and nodded, making Hermione realize he knew about Ginny's worry over the subject. She couldn't help but wonder if Ron was as intuitive as Harry, and knew she had been freaking out with Ginny. The two hadn't really talked since the war ended, and she had barely seen Ron at all since the law was reinstated.

"Hermione, everything's going to be fine." Harry mumbled and gave her one last squeeze. She released him and let him gather Ginny up, the happy couple receiving everyone's congratulations.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Dinner that night was dedicated to Ginny and Harry as an engagement party. Mrs. Weasley had spent all day preparing a massive layout. Bill and Fleur had stayed home from rebuilding the bank (which Hermione had apologized for profusely, while Ron just chuckled behind her back), which also allowed Fleur to relax. The pregnant woman hadn't had a moment to stop moving since the trio had stopped at Shell Cottage during their hunt. Hermione knew she wanted to be home now, but because of the war, Bill didn't want to leave and Fleur was too nice to say anything about the lack of privacy. Bill rushed past her now, handing Fleur a few empty glass to fill for dinner, making sure his wife didn't move around the busy table. Ron and the twins had run off at the sight of work, leaving Harry and Percy to peel potatoes and Hermione and Ginny to help Mrs. Weasley with the rest of the dinner.

The resulting feast was one Hermione could say had never been seen in the Burrow before today. Ginny was absolutely thrilled, constantly thanking her mum and pointing out how wonderful everything was. The boys had come down when the food was fully cooked and the jobs completely done. Fred and George had launched themselves at the food, barely taking time to compliment their mum on the food. Ron had taken a step towards the table and second guessed himself.

"Hermione? Could we talk a minute?" Ron asked her quietly, taking her elbow gently. She couldn't do anything but stand and follow him out, the both of them slipping into the living room unnoticed in the noise of the dinner table.

"What is it Ron?" Hermione stood nervously in the middle of the room, aware that if Ron had left food on the table, he must be serious.

"I had been thinking 'Mione," he mumbled, tapping his hands nervously against his lap. She took his arm and led him to sit on the couch, "about Harry and Ginny."

"You've been thinking of your sister and best friend?" her nose scrunched up in confusion. Ron sent her a sharp glare, realizing what she meant.

"I meant what they did. Harry proposing, so they could be together." Hermione suddenly had a sinking feeling about this conversation.

"Oh, Ronald, I,"

"No, Mione, just let me say something first." He pulled his hand away from her arm, letting both of his hands tap his lap again. Hermione could feel her hands begin to sweat. This wasn't right, it was nothing like she'd read about, and imagined for such a long time. This whole thing felt wrong, the timing was horrible and forced. He wasn't even looking at her; the ceiling had suddenly become insanely interesting to him. They were supposed to get married later; once they'd dated and kissed again, and discussed the idea of doing this. Ron looked at her again, a frown etched across his face. He still didn't say anything, and she realized at once; she didn't want this. Hermione Granger did not want to marry unsystematically.

"Ronald, stop," she begged, but he spoke over her anyway.

"I don't think we should get married."

The silence between them after Ron uttered this was deafening. Hermione couldn't seem to stop staring at him. She felt numb, but relieved if that was at all possible.

"You don't want to," she started and was cut off again, this time by Ron taking her hand in both of hers.

"No." She nodded, releasing the breath she hadn't realized she'd taken in. "It's not right Mione. I know we didn't get any time together, and we've waited forever, but doing something like getting married just to end up hating each other later isn't right."

"Ron, I don't hate you."

Ron smiled warmly, knowing he was winning this one, "No, and I'd never hate you either. And Mione," He paused, his ears turning an alarming shade of red. "I do love you. But more like a sister. You're one of my best friends, but we can't get married."

Hermione stayed silent another moment before she grinned up at Ron, "Thank Merlin. I didn't know how to bring this up." He looked incredibly shocked before a surprised laugh stole out of his lips.

"You were going to blow me off?"

"No! I was going to tell you the same thing. I love you too, just like I love Harry. You're both basically my brothers. I didn't want to get married right away either. And I didn't even know if I wanted to get married to you, Ronald." They shared some happy smiles and laughs, not letting go of each other's hands. They spent another minute before realizing dinner had begun without them. Hermione smiled at Ron, feeling so incredibly relieved they were on the same page. And then a feeling of dread filled her as she realized they were now in the running for a mismatched marriage of doom. But now wasn't the time to dwell over her problems, Ginny and Harry were to come first for now, and their happiness in this crumbling little hell they'd found themselves.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"Thank you so much again Mrs. Weasley." Harry thanked the older woman as he brought his and Ginny's plate to the sink.

"Oh Harry dear, it was no problem. Stop thanking me so much, I should be thanking you! You've made my little girl very happy in such a horrid situation." Harry blushed, ducking his head to hide it from the family.

"Yeah, you're lucky this is a law, Potter," George started up.

"Or you'd have a horde of Weasley's after you," Fred began for him, and George jumped in once more, "For seizing the moment."

"Oh you two, honestly," Hermione 'tsked' in their direction.

Dessert was served with a flourish of Molly's wand, dishing a small trifle onto everyone's place setting. Everyone was rowdy and happy, talking over each other and constantly poking at Ginny and Harry. Hermione was feeling much better now, even sharing a few laughs with Ron. But everything went topside when the owl knocked against the kitchen window. All conversation ceased as each set of eyes went to the window.

"Was anyone expecting something?" Charlie asked, but no one said anything. Percy was the one to finally stand to retrieve the owl's letter. He read over the recipient and looked at Hermione and Ron.

"It's for you three." Hermione's eyes widened but reached for the letter all the same. The trio's names were scrawled across the front in a curly cursive. The back had the Ministry of Magic's seal over the envelope crease. Without consulting the other two, she popped the wax and pulled out the thick invite.

"Dear Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger. The Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shaklebot requests a meeting to be held at the Ministry of Magic for unspecified reasons. Please send your immediate response with the Ministry licensed owl, and arrive promptly for your appointment. Thank you, and have a good day." Hermione looked up now, noticing the whole table was watching her.

Harry was the first to say anything, "May as well send a yes with the owl. It is Kingsley after all."

"What the bloody hell is Kingsley asking us to the Ministry for?" Ron asked point blank, causing his mother to shoot him a look. Ron noticed but didn't say anything to her, "What? Harry just killed the most powerful wizard known, and he expects us to walk up to the Ministry and announce that The-Boy-Who-Lived is here?"

Harry couldn't help but agree with him, "Yeah, I don't want to know how many people may try to kill me on sight when they see me." Hermione didn't want to think like that anymore, but she couldn't disagree with the two. They all sat in silence, trying to figure out how to see Kingsley while Hermione wrote the reply quickly, letting him know they would see him the next day.

"Well," Fred piped up, dragging all eyes to his side of the table, "it's a good thing the brightest witch of her age knows how to brew a perfect Polyjuice Potion." Hermione glared at the twin, trying to ignore his smug grin and the shocked looks everyone was watching her with.

"How do you know about that?" Ron asked, missing the shushing sound Harry shot at him too late.

"Hermione? When did you make a Polyjuice Potion?" Ginny asked incredulously, as if seeing her friend in a new, trickster light.

Hermione groaned, rolling her neck, "We had to sneak into the Slytherin common room, and the only way I could think of doing so without getting expelled was to change into a Slytherin. We really had no other choice."

"_We, _snuck into the Slytherin common room, _you _stayed in the bathroom." Harry muttered, with Ron trying to hold back a grin. George caught on quick, leaning in to Hermione, "Just where were you during all this sneaking around, Granger?" Hermione could feel her cheeks grow uncomfortably warm but she refused to try and hide them, it would only make the teasing worse. The story had to come out eventually no matter how hard she wished it wouldn't. George took another poke at her, hitting the center of her cheek, causing her to respond rather explosively.

"I took the wrong hairs from bloody Millicent bloody Bulstrode's robes, all right? It's not my fault her hair resembles her ruddy cat's!" It took a moment for everyone to understand what had happened before the twins burst out laughing, George going as far as rolling off his bench seat. She felt horribly embarrassed, trying feebly to hide herself in George's sweater. Even Ginny was giggling madly, wiping the healthy tears from the corners of her eyes.

"You turned into a cat! Blimey, I can't believe it!" Her friend collapsed against Harry's arm, fresh laughter arising from her. "But wait, Polyjuice doesn't allow human-animal transformations," Ginny realized, sitting up once more. Ron broke then, a loud guffaw escaping.

Harry grinned at her then, "She had a tail for days," Ron couldn't contain himself any longer, rolling around similarly to the twins, "And the whiskers lasted for a week."

Hermione allowed the laughter for another few minutes, realizing the ridiculousness of the situation. Though it really had been a horrible time, Madame Pomfrey had told her she was lucky the fleas hadn't attached to her in the week she was furry.

"Anyway," she called loudly to break through the din of the kitchen noise, "yes, I could make us a potion, but as you two recall it took us a full month to brew that potion. Though this time, we wouldn't have to sneak the ingredients from Snape's cupboards, it still takes a fortnight to prepare. It definitely won't be ready in the next couple days." She attached the finished letter to the Ministry's owl and turned back in her seat to see the Weasley's looking shocked once more.

"Hermione Jean Granger! You _stole _from a professor!" Mrs. Weasley shouted across the table, glaring Hermione down. She could feel herself shrinking down in her seat under the motherly figureheads white hot glare.

"Wicked," George and Fred grinned, Fred even going as far as to wink at her.

"It was the first time; it's not that big of a deal. The books later were a lot tougher to get." Ron spoke out without thinking, taking another biscuit from the center of the table. Harry sent a glare at his mate, at the same time Hermione smacked the back of his head. "Ron!" they both yelled.

"That was for DA, it was completely different!" Mrs. Weasley was only looking more peeved, so Hermione looked away trying to find another topic of conversation.

"Anyways," Harry spoke up, giving Hermione the chance to relax, "why don't we just use the invisi-er," he paused, realizing not everyone knew about his father's cloak.

"An invisibility charm?" Hermione piped up. Harry nodded, his ears burning as he hid his face in the tea. "Yes, that should work. I'll do some research to find a simple one for us to use." She ignored the snickers that broke through after she said this, deciding she had been ridiculed enough for one day.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Okee dokee, I've made the executive decision to split this chapter up. It was getting dreadfully long, and I needed a new look at what I was writing. This one does have a lot of dialogue in it, but I found the second half flowed at a different rate. I'm sure you'll get the second half in no time, possibly even in a few hours. I just needed them separated, it felt better to me. **

**So how'd you like it though? Good so far? I guarantee, more letters will arrive next chapter!**


	5. The Letters Arrive

**There we are, new chapter, new outlook on the fiction life! I like this half much better already, it's much more me I found. I like the descriptions more than the talking most times. Anyways, here we are, here we go, let me know what you think! And apparently totally told a lie did not get this out in an hour.**

**And by the way, since I haven't done one yet: I don't own this story line. If, you know, thought I might. I don't. **

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

A few days later found the trio on their way to the Ministry, fully covered by Harry's invisibility cloak, feeling much safer with the well known cloth. Hermione had insisted on small covering charms in case the cloak slipped or when they had to remove it for security checks. Nothing had stopped them from the Floo all the way to Kingsley's office. Once they had reached the door, they were forced to remove their cover to answer the security questions spelled into the door. The door was vibrating lightly, a dim green glow emanating from the grain of the wood. A deep robotic voice was already whispering, repeating over again and again, _"Mr. Potter, on whose broomstick did you ride during the escape of The Seven Potters?" _Harry looked at Hermione in confusion.

"Harry, its making sure you're who you say you are. Kingsley must have instilled questions only you would know into the wood of the door." Harry nodded before turning to the door to answer it.

"I didn't, I rode on the side of Hagrid's motorcycle." The door accepted the answer with a light rumble before asking the next question towards Ron, repeating itself a few rimes before Ron understood it was asking him.

_"Mr. Weasley, what are the names used for two, after the original two tricksters perished." _Ron grinned, and leaned in to the door.

"Gideon and Fabian," The door rumbled happily, taking a moment to pause before asking the next question. Hermione took the pause as a chance to ask Ron quickly, "Just who was that about?"

"Fred and George; It's their middle names, not that they'll ever tell anyone. They were mom's twin older brothers. I caught mom calling them by their full names when I was younger." Hermione nodded, and continued to wait for her question. Ron suddenly tapped her shoulder, "Please don't let them know I told you." She only smiled, and heard the door speak to her again.

_"Miss Granger, which word in the muggle dictionary is spelled incorrectly?" _

"What? Why didn't you get a personal question like ours? Anyone could figure this out!" Ron fumed, frowning at the wooden door ahead of them, though he obviously couldn't figure the answer to the riddle. Hermione rolled her eyes and whispered the answer.

"Incorrectly," the door rumbled once more and swung open with a heavy groan. She turned to grin at the boys before practically skipping into the office. Kingsley was waiting for them behind his desk, grinning at the young witch as she made her way to one of the three empty seats made for them.

"Ah, I see you made it through the new security system, very well done." The tall wizard rumbles out to them in his deep voice, giving Hermione a special smile once she sat down, "And a very good job on your question Miss Granger. I was sure you would figure it out, though I didn't believe it would be so quickly."

"Of course Kingsley, I told you that one in my fifth year if you recall." Harry and Ron took their seats on either side of her, shaking their heads knowingly at one another over the shared knowledge between the other two. Kingsley laughed at the bright young witch, seating himself behind the large wooden desk. The miniature phoenix woke from his slumber at the interruption, launching himself off his roost to soar above their heads. He was no larger than a teaspoon, flying in circles before settling on Ron's shoulder. The freckled boy couldn't seem to decide if he should leave it alone, or risk a burn in trying to remove the tiny bird. Hermione took pity on her friend, using the tips of her fingers to extract the magic bird's talons from Ron's jacket, instead moving it to sit on the knee of her jeans. The phoenix happily settled on the denim, pawing at the fabric before settling down with a fiery sigh, singeing a small spot on her trousers.

"Sorry about him, hasn't quite grown accustomed to life in an office." Kingsley apologized once he noticed Hermione petting the small creature. She only shrugged, accepting the damage without a thought.

"I've had worse. Now, why exactly have we been summoned here Kingsley?" The Minister straightened in his seat, shuffling through a few papers lying across his desk. The surface was completely covered in what looked like letters, none in the same written hand. Most looked short, and to the point, while others looked quite lengthy and rather angry. She swore she even saw a Howler peeking out from underneath a heavy looking tomb about unicorns. They had to be requests and complaints about the law, all going straight to the Minister himself to be dealt with. Each one was opened, each had been looked through, but there were no responses sitting next to them waiting to be sent out.

"Yes, I figured you would like the chance to yell at me in person rather than hope I receive your letters in time." The older wizard smiled grimly at the trio, with only Ron giving him a small smile, "I thought it only right to allow the heroes that saved the Wizarding World a chance to have a say in their future."

Ron's smile slipped from his face, "You mean we can be pulled out of the running?" Kingsley's face fell fractionally as he shook his head sadly.

"No, I'm sorry. The law magically connects each eligible witch and wizard to a contract of sorts. There's no way to remove you from the pool. I was thinking you could have a better chance at choosing your partner, face-to-face with me, rather than hoping your request went through before you received your letters." The trio looked at each other happily, realizing how wonderful this opportunity was. Harry especially looked like it was Christmas morning. He was the first to speak up, "I was just engaged this morning. To Ginny,"

Kingsley smiled widely at her friend, "Congratulations Mr. Potter. I can't say I'm very surprised, I'm sure it would have happened regardless of the law." Harry's cheeks went red, but he was still smiling, making Hermione grin happily at her best friend. Kingsley then looked right at her, "And you, Miss Granger? Have you decided on anything for yourself?" Hermione frowned, thinking for a moment before she really realized what Kingsley was insinuating.

"Oh, no, Kingsley, Ron and I aren't getting married! We decided it wouldn't be a good idea, we're just going to hope for the best with everyone else." The shocked looks from Kingsley and Harry caused a feeling of unease to crawl through her stomach. Honestly, they hadn't been together all that long for them to be shocked over this. Yes, they were friends, and yes, there had been something between them. But they were adults now, and she knew they had reached the right decision together.

"Though, if it's not too much trouble, I would really appreciate it if we were still paired with another Gryffindor. It makes me a lot more comfortable to know Hermione's not going to end up with Malfoy or someone else from Slytherin." Ron spoke up; keeping eye contact with Kingsley the whole time he asked his prejudiced question. Hermione didn't even have time to act shocked before Kingsley nodded gravely, marking something on the sheet in front of him.

"I'm not surprised; I've had the same vague request from quite a few past Hogwarts students of the last few years. It seems the houses weren't quite as united as we believed." Kingsley took this time to glance at the three of them over his notes, not surprised to see them all fidget uncomfortably. It was no longer a secret on how the trio worked during their school days. "Any objections to Mr. Weasley's request, Hermione?" She didn't say anything, shaking her head minutely.

"So it's settled then? That's it?" Harry asked, beginning to stand. Kingsley nodded, losing the books in front of him.

"That's all. You are all dismissed." Kingsley smiled unhappily at them, waving them away, "Good luck,"

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The trip back to the Burrow after their visit with Kingsley was a long one. Ron still had an aversion to Apparating, with was understandable after their bad few runs during their hunt. Hermione had agreed to walk back with him, Harry grudgingly following them through Diagon Alley. She had told him a few times to go ahead of them to tell Ginny the good news, but he insisted he could walk with them. The last few minutes of silence from them and dragging his heels almost caused her to send him back herself before they reached the bright and cheery store front of the twins reopened joke shop. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was bursting with customers; the constant flow of children and adults alike making the store seems like it was being pushed around. The bright orange walls had been repainted recently, the orange and mixing in with sparkling purple and magenta, clashing horribly but creating a very exciting look. Hermione knew the twins' robes were matching horrendous colours, making their bright ginger hair even more otherworldly than regular. She hadn't visited the shop since it had reopened, instead focusing most of her energy in the marriage law. The sudden need to soak up the flavourful shop had her tugging Ron's sleeve towards his brothers shop door, "Let's peek inside for a hello."

"You want to go inside?" Ron asked her, acting rather shocked the small witch was willing to go in on her own.

"Why not? We're here, and I know neither of you have gone in since it opened again." She began to walk in the door, dodging the two ten year olds who were darting away with mischievous grins. As soon as she had the door open, a cacophony of music and noise was blasted through the alley. Hermione slipped in with Harry right behind her, a much more wary Ron following his friends in. The difference between the rambunctious store now and the store of the past was amazing. Every shelf had been doubled in size, some reaching the top of the ceiling, accessed by the third landing or the overly large ladder than had a very strict, '_Employees and Weasley's Only. And Granger's. And We Suppose Potter's as Well_.' sign that had Hermione giggling loudly as she continued to peruse the store. The twins had put obvious care into the new and improved setting. The walls had been repainted, and the curtains were a brand new magenta, clashing horridly with the orange walls. All the product shelves were bursting with different sized boxes, and the Pygmy Puff cage was standing proudly in the center, boasting a rather large circus style play yard in which the multicoloured puffs were jumping happily. She couldn't seem to spot either of the Weasley twins, but their second in command Lee Jordan was waving them over to the cash register. Hermione moved to greet him, leaving Harry and Ron to stare at the new improved Puking Pastilles, guaranteed to keep you out of at least two classes, but keep the stomach-ache away.

"Hey there Granger! Fancy seeing you here." Lee greeted her warmly, going so far as to gather her up in a friendly hug. She returned it warmly, having missed the older, not Weasley-but damn-close, boy.

"Yes, nice to see you Lee. We were just at the Ministry, and I pulled Ron and Harry in to see the new shop." She poked at the gelatinous green blob sitting in the corner of the counter, startling her when it tried to poke her back. Lee pushed her fingers away, swatting them playfully as If she were a small child, "It looks like troll boogies."

"It might be. I honestly don't know myself." His completely serious face caused her to laugh aloud, raising a grin from the boy. Just then, a rather startling explosion burst form one of the last aisles, an alarming shade of pink billowing out in mushroom clouds. Lee jumped around the counter, rushing to the aisle and the culprit. Hermione watched in amusement as he was instantly consumed by the pink cloud sucking him in to nonexistence.

"That was rather too easy," A familiar voice whispered behind her, causing a new grin to spread across her face. Without looking, she knew one of the twins was watching the same scene she was, amused expressions plastered across both their faces.

"Was that you then?"

"What?" definitely a fake gasp of hurt pride, "in my own shop? Waste away perfectly good Candy Clouds? Never," She turned around to continue the amusing conversation, believing Lee to be perfectly capable of defending himself in the cloud of pink. Fred was leaning against the opposite counter, grinning mischievously down at her, while still assessing the cloud situation.

"Is it flavoured?" Another grin at her, this one shifting to leering.

"Of course. Though it may taste a bit like Lee now. Candy Floss Lee." the two broke into laughter together, Hermione tearing up when she noticed Lee stumble out of the candy cloud, bits of it sticking into his dreadlocks. He stood tall once more and charged back in, causing a few tufts to fly around. Hermione calmed herself and turned back to the lone twin, her happy smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Why have we distracted Lee then?"

"Why, to make sure you've eaten enough today. Can't have our Hermione waste away in the middle of my store." Fred smiled down at her once more, noting the bright blush colouring her cheeks.

"I'm fine, Fred. I had brunch with Harry and Ron." The smile had completely disappeared, the heavier topic causing her to crash back down to reality. He nodded in acceptance, but still he pulled out a tray of fluffy looking sweets and what she was sure were left over biscuits from Mrs. Weasley's dinner last night. She sighed, but took a few sweets for herself, eating them under his watchful stare.

"I'll get you fattened up soon enough, Granger." She shot him a baleful glare.

"You're lucky I understand you Fred Weasley, or you'd be sporting a hex by now." He nodded sagely, his grin throwing the kicked puppy look out the window.

"Is food the only reason you caused your shop duress?"

Fred shook his head, leaning in like he was going to take another sweet, but stopped to whisper in her ear, "Mom just flooed me. The letters arrived a few minutes ago."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

They were lined up along the length of Mrs. Weasley's kitchen table; one after the other with George's laid just above Fred's. Hermione thought it was rather cute the way she treated them as one, like she knew they would grab both at the same time. Everyone had arrived a moment ago, Ginny being the last to Floo home from her shopping trip with Luna. They could have opened them as soon as they had left the twins shop to come to The Burrow, but with one look at Harry's face, Hermione had told everyone to wait for Ginny, and then for the twins to close up shop.

Ginny took a seat right next to Harry, threading her arm through his, "Let's get this over with then, yeah?" Everyone nodded and agreed, and Hermione took a large breath in before she reached for the letter with her name scrawled across the front. Ginny snatched her up, handing Harry his as it was scooped up with hers. Hermione could feel her heart beating through her entire body, her head throbbing from the power this little envelope held over her. Her name had never looked so intimidating, scrawled in some unknown witch or wizard's hand, one who couldn't realize how horrible their writing felt to her.

"Should we just do it?" Ron whispered, like he was scared to break the silence. Hermione didn't wait for anyone to answer; she just began to rip the seal off. The sound of ripping and crumbling envelopes surrounded her as she began to read the letter to herself,

'_Dear Miss Hermione Granger,'_

_ We at the Ministry of Magic are happy to inform you your request has been accepted, and we have been able to match you successfully. Please note all wedding dates must be forwarded to the Ministry two weeks after receiving names. Your match has been named,_

**Mr. Fredrick Weasley, **_**co-owner of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, official member of The Order of the Phoenix, member of Dumbledore's Army, and fought in the battle at Hogwarts**_**.**

_ Thank you, and congratulations,_

_Matilda Hopkirk, Secretary to Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shaklebot_

Hermione couldn't breathe. She couldn't even tell if her eyes were crossed or not, the blurry letters getting worse as she continued to stare at them. There was no noise surrounding her, everyone else being completely silent. Even Harry and Ginny hadn't said a word, though everyone already knew their letters had each others names. No one could have seen her match coming, not even if it had flown by on a big purple hippogriff.

"Well, don't leave us in agony, who did you get?" Charlie nudged George, inviting everyone to speak up. George looked up at Charlie, an uncharacteristic shy smile spread across his face.

"Angelina and I got accepted." Charlie grinned, slapping his brother on the back in congrats. Hermione didn't even realize the couple had put in a request. Percy was next, announcing his match was some girl named Audrey. Ginny and Harry happily confirmed they were matched correctly, accepting the happy hugs Molly and Arthur handed out.

Bill looked over at the remaining three of us who hadn't spoken yet. Ron's face was puckered into a sour grimace, "Who'd you get then Ronnie?"

"Romilda Vane," Harry grimaced consolingly at his friend, aware of the girls past habits. Hermione barely knew the girl, but had been filled in after Ron's accident. She couldn't still be rotten, she had after all seemed perfectly nice during the DA meetings, and she was sure Romilda had been spotted during the battle at the school. Suddenly, Hermione could swear she felt eyes on her, like they were expecting something from her.

"You, didn't get Hermione's name?" George frowned at his younger brother, seriously questioning why the two weren't sobbing or yelling over one another. Ron looked over at Hermione, and she saw his eyes looked just as shocked as she felt. With a dull pain in her head, she realized they hadn't told anyone, except for Harry but even that had been an accident.

"Uh, no, uh," Ron stammered incoherently, making him sound like he was stumbling down a steep hill.

"We decided to wing it," Hermione said, but it came out in a much more feeble whisper than she had anticipated. Charlie looked at her strangely, and she tried to duck her head to avoid his gaze, and everyone else's confused ones.

"Yeah, we just wanted to be with other Gryffindors, keep it in the family, right?" Ron tried to lighten the mood, and Hermione smiled wryly at him, hoping to relieve the tension.

"Who did you get, Hermione?" Ginny asked from the seat next to her, her whisper loud in the dead silent room. She took a deep breath, but choked on the dead feeling air, swallowing hard instead. Ginny frowned and nudged her friend in the side, trying to raise any kind of reaction from the bushy haired girl. After another moment of silence from Hermione, Ginny sighed and gave up, reaching for the letter herself. She took it at the same time George snatched his twin's, who was sitting as silently as everyone else. George practically jumped out of his seat once he read over Fred's letter, Ginny gasping as she finished Hermione's.

George began reading aloud as Ginny pushed Hermione's hair out of her face, ignoring the hand trying to bat her away, "_Dear Mr. Fredrick Weasley, The Ministry of Magic has matched you successfully, _yada yada," he skimmed over the bit before reaching the name, "_Your match has been named, _**Miss Hermione Granger**_**, member of the Golden Trio, founder of Dumbledore's Army, Order of Merlin First Class, fought in the battle of Hogwarts.**_" He stopped after her last achievement, looking up to stare at her, as did the rest of the family.

"That," Ron spoke up, his voice cracking a bit, "is not what I meant by keep it in the family, Mione."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Finally, good lord above and any others out there, that took me a while. It wouldn't leave my head and transfer itself to the computer. So, I'm sorry for the delay, but I hope it was worth it. No explosions from anyone, as I don't believe they'd do that, and I'm over stories where all Ron does is yell, and Fred's a constant sweetie pie. Things will happen here, and they will be good and bad.**

**P.S. this is my longest chapter so far!**

**Don't know when the next one will be out; I have a day off in a couple days that may be a constant writing day.**


	6. Scars Revealed

**This first part was kind of hard for me to do, and I'm sure I did it over three times before settling. Conflict makes me nervous, so any nervousness in my stories is very real people; it's from my homely, shell shocked soul. **

**Sorry for the choppy scenes too, it was a little strange to decide on which scene to grow on.**

**BTW I realize the DA only used the Black Quill in the films, but I've used it in this story. You'll see. **

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

She had faced monsters before. Huge snakes cowering in her school, raging centaurs in the Dark Forest; and a few questionable teachers as well. Fear had coursed through her entire body, and she knew what it felt like to await death. To her amazement, Hermione felt more emotion in this moment than she did in any of the past horrors she had faced. The Burrows kitchen had cleared completely except for her and Fred, who hadn't looked at her since George read their letters aloud. She could barely look at him herself, her cheeks growing uncomfortably warm every time she glanced up hoping to say something. Mrs. Weasley hadn't even poked her head in yet, the rest of the family had dispersed around the home.

"Hermione," His whisper cut rather suddenly through their tense silence. Hermione still refused to look up, instead turning her head to the side, revealing her ear from her curtain of hair.

"Yes?"

"I don't know what to do," he scoffed at himself, trying to gain back some control of the situation. "Or say, to you, which is strange because you're my friend, but I can't, or I don't know," He stopped. Hermione felt like crying from the relief rushing through her, realizing they were on the same embarrassing page.

"Oh Fred, I'm sorry," The bench between them didn't seem as daunting as she slid down farther towards him. He took a quick peek before ducking his head into his tea, still ignoring her. He mumbled something, but she didn't catch it so she slid closer still, only a few inches left of the bench between them. "I didn't hear that,"

"I said: I'm sorrierier." Hermione couldn't help the giggles that escaped when he mumbled again, this time lifting his head for her to hear. Without thinking, she sat right next to him and gathered him in a one armed hug, pulling his shoulder into her neck.

"Oh Fred, what am I going to do with you?" a deep sigh broke through from the moody red head as he finally raised his head, looking straight into her eyes.

"Marry me, apparently."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Hermione watched as the Weasley family settled into the sitting room, Percy starting the fire up, as Ginny pushed past him to pull Harry onto the loveseat with her. She cursed the large family silently as she urged her still feet to move from the kitchen doorway.

"You'll have to move eventually." Fred whispered near the top of her head, stooping over to allow his quiet voice to reach her.

"Obviously," she growled, fully aware how ridiculous she was being in that moment, stalking the Weasley family like they were a mouse Crookshanks had discovered.

"Alright Snape, get a move on." She tossed a glare over her shoulder, realizing the glower lost most of its heat when she had to crane her neck to look up at him. She slipped away from him, choosing to ignore the muffled laughter following her out. She kept her eyes trained on the stairs, a sense of relief beginning to course through her until a cursed freckled hand shot out and snagged her arm.

"Where do you think you're going? Sit down, relax." Ginny pulled her down, raising her eyebrow until Hermione relaxed and sat next to her on the loveseat, forcing Harry to bunch up into the armrest. Fred crept in after her, looking much less awkward than she had as he slipped down beside George, the two immediately starting to talk and poke at Percy, who looked like he wanted to fall through the floor. Hermione stared at him once more before turning away to see Ginny watching her, a grin pasted across her face.

"Oh shut it," Hermione mumbled, her cheeks now flaming as she ducked her head into the tea tray.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"I'm freaking out."

"No, you're not."

"Yes I am, you can't tell me this isn't a good freak out moment, Georgie." George sighed heavily, slumping into the flat futon couch he and Fred had in their sitting room of their flat. Fred had begun pacing back and forth as soon as they'd stepped out of the fireplace from the Burrow, not stopping after ten minutes had passed. George had been planning on taking Angelina out for a celebration dinner, but quickly realized those plans were quickly flying away from him. His brother hadn't stopped moving and it was beginning to worry him.

"Fred, just sit for a mo'." Fred only shook his head, spinning to face the front door before turning back to George on the couch.

"I can't, if I stop I might hurl," his hands went immediately to his hair, pulling the long strands around his fingers and pushing it away from his face. "George what do I do? Ron is going to kill me, and I think mom was seriously thinking of punching me out. And Hermione," here he groaned and collapsed beside his brother, hanging his head between his knees like Bill had taught them to do after getting dizzy during their first broom ride. George tried not to laugh at his twin, instead laying his hands on Fred's shoulders, rubbing roughly to try and wake him.

"Fred I think you may be over thinking this, brother." the conflicted twin raised his head to look at his brother, confusion clear across his face.

"How could I be? I'm literally breaking my little brother's heart right now, and ruining his girl's life."

George shrugged, pulling Fred to sit back at the same time, "Maybe, but Ronnie didn't seem too angry with you. If anything, I think he looked a little happy," he paused, causing Fred to look at him in bewilderment, "you know, under the grossed out look on his face." Fred frowned and punched George in the arm.

"That, dear brother, is not helping." George shook his arm out, chuckling at his brother once before shaking his head like he was clearing it.

"Right, sorry, sorry." The two sat in silence for a while, Fred staring into the fire, and George trying to wrap his mind around this situation. Fred had never been so quiet; the nearest being right after the war, but that had only lasted the rest of the day before the two were out spreading joy again. This funk he was in now was beginning to worry George a bit.

"What did Hermione say earlier? She seemed just as weird as you." Fred flushed, not looking George in the eye.

"We didn't really say much," Fred mumbled out, scratching the back of his hands nervously.

"Of course you didn't," George sighed again, getting the feeling he was going to be doing that for a while.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"I'm starting to freak out now."

"What have you been doing all this time then?"

"I honestly can't tell if I'm breathing, Ginny." Ginny sighed heavily, sitting up from her bed to look over at the twin bed next to hers. Hermione was clearly beginning to hyperventilate, her shoulders heaving as she clutched at her head. Ginny sat up from her bed, swinging her legs over to step over to her friend's side. Once everyone had left the Burrow or went to bed, Hermione had taken off running to their room where she had launched herself onto the bed and hadn't moved since.

"You're breathing alright, but maybe slow it down a bit, yeah?" Hermione nodded, missing Ginny's joking grin. It took her a moment, but eventually the heavy quick breaths slowed down to normal. "Better now?" Hermione nodded, but didn't stop staring up at the crooked ceiling.

"What do I do?" The older witch finally whispered, her voice cracking from disuse. Ginny couldn't help sighing once more, as she took a seat next to Hermione's hip.

"I don't know what you mean, 'Mione." The girl finally sat up, shifting to lean against the wall behind her pillows.

"With Fred, Ginny, what do I need to do?"

"Um, marry him, I suppose." Hermione scoffed and crossed her arms across her chest grumpily.

"That's what he said too. You Weasley's are no help."

Ginny laughed merrily, patting the mass of curls on the top of her friends head fondly, "Well, did you talk to him earlier? Did he say anything?" Hermione shook her head, her face falling even more.

"No, we just kind of sat there, and he mostly apologized and said we were getting married. But does that mean he's okay with this?" Hermione sunk lower into her bed spread, her mood declining more so if that were at all possible.

"I think the first step should be having an actual conversation with my brother Hermione. You two have been getting closer, I thought you were pretty good friends by now. It shouldn't be too hard; Fred's not a bad guy." Hermione nodded, her shoulders collapsing steadily, relaxing visually.

"I know; I rather enjoy hanging out with the twins. But I never thought about spending the rest of my life with one of them, or starting a family," The curly haired witch choked on her words, both girls eyes meeting each other's very quickly, Ginny's brown eyes growing wider as the news caught up to her.

"Oh Merlin," Ginny whispered, raising her fingers to fiddle with her hair. Hermione interrupted her first,

"I have to sleep with Fred!"

"I'm going to be an aunt!" Ginny's exclamation was met with a sharp smack, followed by giggles from the both of them.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

A strange occurrence in the Burrow was a moment of silence. With all her chicks back in the nest, Molly Weasley was ready at the crack of dawn to begin the day's work. The twins had gone back to their flat last night, but every other Weasley was still roosted somewhere in the ramshackle home. Beside Fleur and Bill, all the others were lumped together in rooms. Harry, Ron, and Percy were together in Ron's old room. The twins usually slept in their old room with Charlie, which Molly was sure Percy would bring up this morning at not being told he could bunk with his older brother with the twins gone, and leave the younger wizards to themselves. She started on the large breakfast, preparing the meat first, hoping it would rouse a few of her children and she could coerce them to help.

"Morning mum," Molly jumped from her position in front of the stove, surprised someone was awake already. Taking a peek at the sun dial on the window ledge showed her it was a few hours before any one of her children should sound so chipper. She looked around the doorway, craning her neck up to see the top of the winding staircase. To her even greater surprise, Ginny was the one traipsing down the stairs, dragging a much more bedraggled looking Hermione behind her. While her daughter looked uncharacteristically chipper, her self-adopted daughter was dragging her feet and rubbing her frizzed hair out of her eyes.

"Well, good morning my dears. What has you two up so early?" Ginny finished pulling Hermione down to the ground level, and quickly deposited her friend in one of the kitchens many wooden chairs. Molly tried not to smile too widely as Hermione dropped into the seat and immediately let her head fall down onto the place mat, a groan following close behind.

"We were up talking most of the night, and decided we were going to go out shopping today. Just us girls," with this, Ginny sent a rather radiant smile at Hermione, who to Molly's amusement, glared heavily at the witch.

"You don't even _like_ to shop you evil little pygmy puff." Hermione muttered, causing Ginny to break out in peals of laughter while Molly looked at Hermione in shock. This wasn't anything like the little girl Ron had dragged home in second year.

"Your cursing hasn't gotten any better 'Mione. I'd have thought living with Harry and Ron would have groomed you to misbehave more often." Hermione snorted and waved her wand over to the kettle, starting its flame up for tea.

"I think I cause more mischief than either of those boys. They'd probably be better off without my nosiness." Molly scoffed then, gaining her two incredulous looks from her girls. "What's wrong, Mrs. Weasley?"

"I rather doubt those boys weren't the cause of all that trouble, Hermione." a guilty frown creased Hermione's face as she swiped her wand through the air once more, lazily setting out tea sets for each of them. She didn't say anything more, focusing on measuring the tea out accordingly. Ginny was watching her amusedly, finally turning to speak with her mom once more.

"I think, if Hermione hadn't met up with that troll in her first year, those three would have never gotten together." Hermione shrunk down.

"Troll!? _You_ were the one to find that troll?" Ginny didn't stop there; she continued to point out many of the mini adventures the Golden Trio had gone on in their early Hogwarts days. She recounted quickly Hermione's core involvement in the Basilisk's unveiling, and saving Buckbeak from death the year after. She didn't mention much of Hermione's fourth year, as Molly realized Harry had been rather reclusive with his friends during the Triwizard Tournament. She soon took a seat across from the girls, propping her chin up and listening. Ginny became more involved in her story telling the farther she went, eventually pulling Hermione in as well, making the oldest young witch begin fixing facts Ginny mixed up. As Molly listened to Hermione begin the tale of Dumbledore's Army starting up, and the measures she went through to keep the large group a secret, and Ginny laughed at Hermione's rendition of Ron producing his first Patronus, Molly suddenly had the wonderful feeling of relief. She hadn't ever thought about it, but Hermione was so well fit for Fred, it was amazing no one had ever pointed it out. Any lingering thoughts of doubt between the two beginning a relationship vanished immediately, and she couldn't help the grateful smile that washed over her face. A full hour after Hermione and Ginny had come down stairs; the rest of the household began to stir. The first down the stairs were Harry and Percy, the latter looking freshly showered and wide awake. Harry came down quite similarly to Hermione, his hair sticking up at strange angles and his eyes squinting behind his circle rimmed glasses.

"Good morning," Percy chirped and helped himself to tea and the warm biscuits. Harry mumbled something that Molly thought might have been a greeting before practically falling into his chair and leaning into Ginny's shoulder. To her credit, Ginny didn't laugh at her fiancé, instead patting his hair down gently and nudging his head to rest more comfortably. Hermione smiled fondly at her friends, watching Harry nuzzle his nose blearily into Ginny's shoulder. Hermione was well aware she and Harry were the worst morning people; both of them had at one point caused Ron to threaten them with curses. Ginny seemed well versed to Harry's morning personality, smoothing his wild fringe back before it dunked into his tea.

"Hermione, are you feeling all right my dear?" Hermione felt a soft hand come down to her shoulder, shocking her out of her thoughts. Mrs. Weasley was leaning into her slightly, a concerned frown comfortably fitted across her face.

"Of course, I think I may still be trying to wake up." Mrs. Weasley smiled softly, patting her shoulder lovingly, and Hermione couldn't help but lean into the woman. She lifted her own hand and patted the calloused hand of the matronly lady. Mrs. Weasley's other hand snapped up immediately, catching Hermione's wrist before she could slip it back to her lap. Hermione frowned, snapping her head back to look at what Mrs. Weasley was doing. Immediately, Hermione felt her body freeze as she glanced at the same scar Mrs. Weasley had discovered. The long bandage that had been covering her entire left forearm had come loose, revealing the 'd' and even cruder 'b' of the long scar covering the inside of her arm.

"Molly," Hermione whispered so quietly she wasn't even sure if the woman had heard her. Mrs. Weasley did not reveal she had in fact heard her, but she continued to stare at the long, poorly healed letters.

"What is this?" She finally said, not at all quiet like Hermione had thought. The rest of the table stopped moving, unaware of what their mother could be looking at. Harry must have noticed first, his eyes roving over Mrs. Weasley and Hermione's clasped hands. A look of complete dread washed over him, before he masterfully covered it up. Mrs. Weasley's hand hadn't let go of Hermione yet, and to her complete horror, she began to push the bandage aside to reveal the scar even further.

"Please, don't," was all she could whisper, realizing there was no way to dissuade her now. Mrs. Weasley continued to push down the bandage, uncoiling the long strand she had kept on for the past few weeks. It fell off rather suddenly, taking the dramatics down a notch though Hermione didn't feel any less frightened. Mrs. Weasley took more than a moment to look over Hermione's entire arm, checking her shoulder as well, though there wasn't anything there to check.

"Who?" her voice was cracked, Hermione suspected she was rather flustered.

"Bellatrix; when we were taken to Malfoy Manor." She didn't ask anymore, just nodded like she remembered herself. Hermione wasn't too sure if Ron or Harry had filled her in on what they'd gone through, but she must have known something.

"We tried to get her, I promise Mrs. Weasley." Harry spoke up, leaning in like he wasn't sure Mrs. Weasley could hear him. Hearing him speak up only seemed to shock the woman and she dropped Hermione's hand, letting it drop to the table.

"It says, oh, that horrible woman! What a vile thing to do! And your hand too! What purpose does that serve?" Hermione watched her face grow completely red, reminding her of Ron.

"That wasn't from Bellatrix, Mrs. Weasley. We got our hand scars during fifth year with Umbridge." Mrs. Weasley's face blanched and clutched the back of Percy's chair. Ron suddenly made an appearance in the kitchen, a happy grin on his face. Hermione wanted to smile at him as she hadn't seen him happy in a few months, but at the same time couldn't wipe the grimace of her face.

"Did someone say Umbridge? Merlin and breakfast smelt so good." He moaned, sitting down in an empty seat and going to grab a scoop of eggs regardless. Mrs. Weasley's hand shot out and snatched Ron's hand up too, squinting to make out the faint Black Quill scar he had. Hermione stopped looking at him with pleading eyes, hoping he could still save himself.

"What does it say?" Ron visibly gulped, deciding the eggs could wait as he tried to think up some way to distract his angered mother. Hermione fleetingly thought this was slightly akin to parents finding out about a hidden tattoo in a Muggle home, but then she remembered this was more of a horror story compared to that tame situation. "Ronald Billius Weasley, you tell me right now, what does it say?"

"I must not break rules." He mumbled. Mrs. Weasley nodded sharply and looked back to Hermione.

"And yours, I already know Harry's, what does yours say?" Hermione ducked her head and rubbed her fingers across the length of the 'Mudblood' and circled the sentence on her hand.

"I am an insufferable know-it-all." She said, not at all ashamed at this scar. It was the more daunting of the two that gave her trouble. Mrs. Weasley gave a long suffering sigh and all but fell into a chair next to Percy.

"Oh, why didn't you tell me you had these?" Ginny suddenly shrank in her seat, and unluckily for her, Mrs. Weasley noticed. "Ginny!"

Ginny sighed and stuck her hand out, "I am not that pretty."

"Oh my girl, how could that vile woman do such a thing?" Mrs. Weasley looked ready to fan herself, leaning her head onto Percy's shoulder. He scrunched his nose like he was disgusted with the familiar touch, but he made a valiant effort to pat his mothers hair.

"Mum, 's not so bad. We only had the one detention with her so the scars never got deep enough for everyone to notice. It was really just Harry who got the worst," Ginny leaned back in her chair, like she was appraising her mother. Mrs. Weasley only started to cry, "And we know the insults are just her being petty. She made me write 'I am not that pretty' over and over because she thought I was being a shameless flirt in her class, when I was just asking one of the boys for homework. It was just something she remembered and used."

"Yeah, mine was just 'cause she had heard about me n' Harry going through the Chamber of Secrets." Ron piped up, obviously very ready to be done with this conversation. Hermione decided not to say anything; she figured hers was very self explanatory.

"And it was just you three?"

"Er, no it was the entire DA." Harry said, deciding he was quite finished with his breakfast, and stood to collect his and Ginny's plates. As he passed he grabbed Hermione's as well, and Hermione realized she really hadn't eaten very much. _Fred is not going to be very happy if he hears about that. _A deep blush covered her cheeks at the thought of him caring for her, so she pushed the thoughts away. Like he was listening in to her thoughts, the Floo suddenly lit up behind her in the living room, and two identical voices chimed in from the doorway.

"Morning all,"

"The favourites are home."

Mrs. Weasley's head shot up and her wand was out in the next second, freezing then twins in their place when they saw it. "You two will sit down and stick your hands on the table." George couldn't seem to sit down fast enough, while Fred took a moment to look at the others around the table before taking the seat next to his brothers and a couple away from Hermione. They both put their hands on the table, palms down. Clearly, their left hands were both puckered to show they had Black Quill scars as well.

"What do they say?" They both looked confused before George grinned and waved his hand around.

"We must not cause mischief," Hermione grinned at the use of plural.

"Still think we should have ignored her and put 'Mischief Managed'. Would have been much better I think." Fred grinned as well, waving his own hand with a flourish. Mrs. Weasley only stared at them, her wand dropping down.

"All right, you brought that on yourselves." She finally said and walked into her living room to sit on the couch. George and Fred both stared after her, George's jaw beginning to drop.

"Oi!" They both shouted in outrage, making the rest of the table break out into peals of laughter, Percy even cracked a smile.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**I'm so sorry if that dragged on and on and on and on and on and on…. You get it. I liked it a bit more as I went, but I'm still apologizing if it was lacking. But really, what story doesn't have a lack chapter? **

**Thanks, AJ**


	7. Treacle In April

**Yeah, I didn't expect too big of a response from that last chapter, so no hard feelings. I really wanted the story to have been further ahead to post a special chapter for April 1****st****, but unfortunately we're not there yet. But I do want to something, so I'm hoping this one comes out in time. Here's hoping *Crossies***

**BTW if we haven't figured it out yet, I really don't own any of this.**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

Besides being born to a family predominately of males, Ginny Weasley took her shopping rather seriously. Hermione had been dragged on these types of trips before, knowing better now than she did then. If Ginny said to turn left you didn't hesitate. If she shoved you into a dressing closet, you diligently removed your clothing and tried on the ones she handed you. Hermione found it had turned into the easiest way to gain Ginny approved fashion. She still couldn't care less what her clothes looked like, as long as they were comfortable and covered her properly. The two girls had been shopping most of the day, staying in Diagon Alley for lunch before continuing to Madame Malkin's. Ginny had been insisting on very few robes for Hermione to think on, so she allowed the ginger girl to continue dragging her along. She also held onto the small hope Ginny would allow her to slip away to Flourish and Blotts.

"Hey, we're close to the twins' shop. Let's pop in!" Ginny grabbed at one of Hermione's hanging bags, trying to pull her away from the bookshops. Hermione decided enough was enough, and pulled back.

"Gin, I'm going to look at books. Follow me, or I'll see you later." Ginny pouted but trudged in behind Hermione sullenly, sneering lightly at the books immediately. Hermione ignored her friend, knowing she had well deserved this visit, and she would stay as long as she could. Ginny eventually wandered away, leaving Hermione to wander the shelves on her own as she looked through old kitchen recipes, perhaps hoping to find one for her mother. Blissfully alone once more, the books began to lull her to relax and enjoy herself. It was minutes later that Ginny popped back over to tell her she was now dreadfully bored and wanted to move on. Sighing, but smiling at her friend, Hermione grabbed one of the many books she had been admiring. She paid without looking further at her chosen title, and followed Ginny back into the busy, dank Alley.

"Can we go to the shop now? I really do want to say hi." Ginny asked her friend, linking their arms together after Hermione had slipped her purchase into one of their many bags. Agreeing whole heartily, the two young witches made their way down Diagon Alley towards the brightly coloured joke shop at the end of the lane. AS they neared, Ginny kept a constant string of conversation going, barely taking a moment to allow a silence to come between them. This was a trait Hermione was well aware could be quite annoying, but she appreciated the constant chatter as they stepped nearer to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. A uncomfortable turn to her stomach was beginning to make her feel queasy as her brain caught up to their saunter, and Ginny's story of the love drunk Nargle Luna Lovegood had been telling her about yesterday was helping to distract her.

Breakfast this morning had ended bitterly after Fred and George had retreated back to their flat, Molly still being quite upset with her children's hidden scars. The twins hadn't been sleeping in their flat since the war had ended, staying in the Burrow like the rest of the Weasley brood. Once Molly had finished crying over the dark accusations, the boys had gone straight to their room, retrieving anything they had been keeping over.

_'Well we're off to work,' George had waved, Apparating without Fred beside him._

_ 'Mostly so we can avoid mum finding out about George's muggle tattoo,' Fred had winked at Hermione quickly, and spun around, disappearing with a pop and leaving his mother to yell after them. Ron had looked back to Ginny with an incredulous look about his face, 'D'you think he really has one?" Ginny had thought about it for one moment before nodding._

Hermione had blushed instantly at Fred's less than subtle flirtations, and then berated herself for getting worked up. They were going to be married soon enough, getting flustered around him wouldn't do much longer. A burst of pure Gryffindor courage had given Hermione the chance to agree to Ginny's impromptu shopping trip, knowing full well the girl would immediately think to take her to the joke shop. That courage had been dwindling down to a shrunken, sad quivering mess of nerves for the last few hours of clothes shopping.

"Maybe they're too busy, we could come back later. Or tomorrow," Ginny shot her a withering look, reminding Hermione of Mrs. Weasley.

"We're saying hello to your fiancé Granger. I'll throw you over my shoulder if I have to." She could feel her face burn up again, but she heroically decided to ignore the flush of heat coursing through her face once again. _I really am ridiculous._

The next turn left revealed the large, vibrant joke shop in all its glory. The windows were crowded with unsupervised children, all clambering over each other to catch a peak of whatever magic treat was showcased for the day. Hermione smiled, remembering the evening she had suggesting the simple switching spell to cast over the shop window, so the treats and jokes would change on their own every morning. The twins had both gone completely silent before jumping around the Burrow, declaring their undying love for her and promising her immunity to many of their pranks. The window today was filled with millions of sparks; some twirling on fixed points and others jumping around freely. A few were even escaping from the miniscule crack in the upper left corner, and falling like crashing Quidditch players before winking out of existence. The bottom of the window sill was covered in gauzy red cushions, pillowing the fireworks boxes, and boasting the names of the multiple sparklers and crackers. The large wizard that held a scary resemblance to Fred and George was pulling something large and pink out of its hat before throwing it away and pulling another out. Until they came even closer did Hermione realize the pink mass resembled an ugly toad in hot pink clothing. She burst into laughter, catching the poke at their old DADA teacher. Ginny finally reached the front door after swimming through the hoard of kids and pulled it open for a frazzled looking young mother, who was forcing her and her son out, though the young boy was fighting gallantly.

"This store will be the death of me, I swear to Merlin," the young mother said to the girls, finally breaking her son away from the door frame. Hermione smiled politely while Ginny snorted in amusement.

"Yeah, try growing up in this." The witch gave her a strange look before disappearing, leaving the door wide open for another family to enter, looking much more enthusiastic than she.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in, Forge,"

"I've seen it bring back worse, Gred." Hermione looked over Ginny's shoulder towards the cash counter, where Verity was working non-stop, while George and Fred sauntered over to her and Ginny. Verity shot her bosses a nasty look, but waved them away with a smile when she noticed her. "And the mice it brings in aren't usually carrying tonnes of bags either." Fred grinned at his baby sister, and smiled softly at Hermione quickly before ushering the girls further into their store.

"Are you saying you have a cat now? The two of you getting lonely at night?" Ginny grinned at her older brothers teasingly, but George waved her away while Fred looked like he was ready to strangle his brother.

"Yes, I am saying that. Verity thought it was necessary to carry a stray in last week, and it hasn't gone away." Fred's grimace was met with George's guilty smile, one Hermione knew well, as she had pulled it herself when she had purchased Crookshanks.

"She's not that bad,"

"Who, Verity?" asked Ginny, grinning over at the frazzled, only other employee of WWW.

"No, the cat. She's alright really; Fred's the one with the problem. She's really sweet; she doesn't bother the customers and just sits at the counter with Verity most of the day." Ginny got a sappy smile on her face as she looked around the shop, obviously searching for the cat. George pointed her to the counter, and sent his sister over to Verity where there was indeed a scrawny, underfed, but happy cat. Fred stayed with Hermione near the door, and she suddenly felt the last few hours catch up to her.

"How was shopping then?" Fred asked surprising her enough to barely squeak out an answer.

"Oh, fine. Bought more clothes I don't need." Fred grinned widely at her, flashing that mischievous side smirk brilliantly. She smiled back, glad for a moment they were alone, as awkward as this moment may be. They hadn't had a moment to sit and get used to one another, either being too nervous to say anything or being interrupted by a member of the Weasley family.

"Had fun though, right?" She nodded, looking away from him to glance around the store. It seemed to kick start something in him, grabbing for her many shopping bags. "Here, I'll put them upstairs for you, and you can grab them before you two leave."

"Oh yeah, all right," she handed them over and watched him pop up to their apartment above the shop. With Fred now gone, Hermione took another look around before deciding to head over to the counter where Verity and Ginny were both cooing over the kitten. She side stepped a rambunctious toddler before reaching the glass topped counter, made to look like an old fashioned Muggle sweet Shoppe display. Only this one had dozens of trick candies lined up in pretty rows, small banners fluttering above each with its proper name and description. Her favourite were the Canary Creams, boasting a fabulous sketch of Neville Longbottom being turned into a frantic canary and then fall to the bottom as a laughing wizard. The note beside it read: _No further explanation needed._

"'Mione you need to come say hello!" Ginny called her closer, gesturing to the preening kitten sitting proudly on the glass counter. The pillow she had been resting on was filled with multicoloured fur, most of it orange. Hermione took a closer look at the preening kitten and had to hold back a snicker at the twins' misfortune. This kitten was most definitely half Kneazle. She was very pretty, if not severely underfed but Hermione was sure Verity and George were taking care of that problem. Her coat was bright white, with large splotches of ginger covering most of her back. Her face was split perfectly down the middle in colour, one white with a black spot above her blue eye, and the other all orange with a brown eye. Her ears were a big give away, the extra pointed tips were a mix of gray and white. She was a lovely mismatched cat, and Hermione had to admit she couldn't have picked better wizards to suit her. As Hermione came nearer, the half Kneazle, half calico gave a mighty sniff and turned large soulful eyes on her as she looked Hermione up and down. She seemed to have passed the test, as the next moment, Hermione had reached for the kitten and received a loud purr and affectionate nuzzle against her chin.

"Well hello there you rascal. Found yourself a lovely home, now haven't you? Smart girl you are," the cat gave a mighty feminine meow and pawed at one of the loose curls by her face. "My kitty would like you I think. He's like you, very clever." the cat gave her a saucy meow now, like she was teasing her about something.

"Does she have a name?" Ginny asked Verity, who shook her head sadly, but smiled watching the kitten play fondly with Hermione. Lifting her hand, the kitten patted at the loose thread hanging from her sleeve.

"George has been trying, but Fred keeps telling him we're not keeping it. I don't think he's realized yet that she refuses to give them up. She's rather hooked."

"We should name her Ginger." Ginny giggled and pat the cat's head. Her idea was met with a baleful glare, showing immediate disapproval, "Or not."

"It takes a while to name a Kneazle Ginny, they are quite particular. It usually helps if their person comes up with it."

Verity sighed, "Great, so we have to wait for Fred to come around." Hermione and Ginny gave her confused frowns before Hermione clued in.

"You mean she claimed Fred, not George?"

"Well, I think she chose both, but Fred seems to be her favourite." Verity grinned then had to turn back to the next customer, leaving the two other witches alone with the kitten/Kneazle. Fred then popped back next to Hermione, causing her to give a great jump.

"Would taking the stairs kill you?" She scolded, but only received another grin. Then he noticed the cause of their distraction and immediately scowled at the cat. For her part, the kitten was purring loudly and rubbing her back against Fred's arm, waiting to be petted. Hermione instead took over for him, knowing he would do no such thing to the animal. "She does need a name, Fred." He looked at her like she had said the most outrageous thing, looking into her eyes before sighing like he had lost a Quidditch match.

"I know,"

"Then name her, she'll be even nicer with a name. Kneazles love getting their names."

He looked like she had punched him in the gut, "Are you telling me this thing is a Kneazle spawn?" He groaned and slumped down in one of the stools by the counter, propping his chin up. The kitten looked him in the eye, a staring contest on the rise until she leaned in and nipped his nose gently before giving it a loving lick. Hermione most definitely didn't miss the small twitch to his lips. It took him another moment before sighing again, though it wasn't as heavy as before.

"I've got nothing. You do it 'Mione. Please." She gave him a kidding glare, but looked to the kitten all the same, thinking of what she may like.

"Melina?" The cat cocked its' head before sneezing. Fred chuckled, actually reaching his hand out to poke at the kitten's nose.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It's a form of orange; obviously not going to work though, so what about Widget?" This time the look the cat shot her could only be oncoming boredom, "Hey, I thought it was cute! The Weasley's Widget? Widget's Weasley Wizard Wheezes? No?" Everyone, including the unnamed half Kneazle was giving her odd looks. Fred looked back at the nameless kitten, which was beginning to yawn widely.

"Treacle? She kind of looks like Ginny's first attempt at making mum's Treacle Tart recipe." Fred finally interrupted, noticing Hermione's growing frustration with the kitten. Ginny shot him a look and made to smack his arm, but stopped upon the grateful yowl coming from the small half- Kneazle.

"Really? You liked _Treacle?_" Ginny asked the kitten, and got another happy meow in return. Hermione laughed delightedly, watching Treacle become much more animated. She practically skipped away from Hermione to Fred's face once more licking his nose fondly in thanks. She then turned around to her pillow and curled herself up, falling back to sleep quickly. Neither Hermione nor Ginny said anything, but Fred still made a point to look them both in the eye,

"I still think we should kick her out."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Their visit lasted until lunch came about, and the shop began to empty. George eventually came over to tell the three he was going to close the shop up for the rest of the day.

"It's dead in here anyways, we may as well bugger off for lunch." Fred agreed with his brother and together, they led the girls out of the shop, locking up behind them with multiple charms on the doorway. Hermione frowned slightly, aware just hoe busy the store had been since they had arrived. The foursome then started making their way through the throngs of other starving witch and wizards. After practically pushing a witch out of the way, Ginny glanced up at the large clock that had recently been added to the top of Gringotts Bank.

"Oh Merlin, I forgot I was meeting Harry for lunch. I'll catch up with you later 'Mione!" And she ran off to an Apparating point to disappear.

"Yes, lovely to see you as well little sister!"

"Glad to spend the day with you!" Fred and George yelled out as she disappeared around a corner, "Well, looks like it's just us then." Fred said while George suddenly nervously looked up at the clock as well.

"Err, Freddie," Hermione couldn't help the scoff that flew from her mouth as she watched Fred turn on his brother in amused exasperation.

"Let me guess. Angie is currently waiting for you to pick her up." George nodded and gave both of them a large smile.

"Go George, I'll see you later. Give Angelina my love," Hermione said, pushing on George's arm to get him moving, knowing full well Fred would just continue to take the mickey out of his brother. George grinned at Hermione and swooped down to plant a sloppy kiss on her cheek before running off with a half arsed goodbye thrown over his shoulder. Now only two, they looked at each other nervously, Fred rubbing at the back of his neck, looking around Diagon Alley quickly. Hermione couldn't help but take a quick look around as well, and noticed how many people had surrounded the Weasley's shop, all turning away unhappy or confused as to why the door was closed.

"D'you still want to go out? The shop looks like it could be doing well today." Hermione said in concern, taking another look around the busy Alley.

"Course we can still go out, I'm hungry, it's lunch time; they can wait, we cannot." Fred grinned at her, but it looked a little strained.

"It's not always this busy though, right? We can stay, I really don't mind." Fred smiled a little softer at her; she felt the need to add, "You have food in your flat, right? We can eat there."

"Alright, you've sucked me in with your charms, Miss Granger," Fred stuck his arm out, which Hermione took immediately, and they made their way back to the hopping joke shop. "And, no it's not normally this busy. But we do usually close up shop on today."

She gave him a strange side glance, but he still caught it, "Its April Fool's Day, Hermione." He smiled at her widely, and pushed through the throng of people to reopen the store. As soon as they stepped inside, Hermione was quick to sidestep away from the Weasley as young witches and wizards flocked around him, immediately begging for attention and to be shown tricks. She couldn't do much but stare at him, her jaw beginning to drop. It was his birthday. And she'd forgotten completely.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

At seven sharp, Fred rushed the last customers out of the store, the young witch, who couldn't have been more than four, was already fiddling with the latch on the cage of her brand new bright green Pygmy Puff. He gave a happy wave to the smiling parents and quickly shut the door, replacing the locking charms on it. Once finished, he turned to the cash counter, where Hermione was just finishing putting the Galleons away from the witch's new pet. She didn't look up as he walked towards her, intent on counting the cash correctly. Knowing she wouldn't look up until she had finished, he took the time to look her over, smiling fondly at her the whole time. This entire situation was ridiculously unfair, but he couldn't help the thought that he had scored lucky on this. While Hermione had always been his little brother's best friend, she had also always been gorgeous. George had on more than one occasion told him to back off, and he had for Ron. But now, this was his chance. He was completely allowed to be charming, and take her out, and Merlin forbid, kiss her. She was absolutely beautiful, but he still couldn't get his act together, and tell her.

"Fred? You ready for dinner then?" He snapped out of his thoughts, looking up to catch her eye. She was watching him, dare he even think, fondly, as she closed the cash drawer and turned slightly to grab the mangy cat from her pillow. She stepped closer to him, Treacle sitting prettily in her arms.

"Yeah, yeah let's head upstairs." He stepped aside, gesturing for her to go first. She smiled and began to mount the two stories of steps to his and George's flat. Before she reached the third step, she stopped and turned back to face him, shifting the half-Kneazle so she was perched more on her shoulder.

"Sorry for making you work on your birthday," she whispered, and leaned in, placing a delicate kiss on his cheek. He was sure he could have fallen down the two steps he had already made.

"Not a problem, thank you for spending it with me." He leaned in slowly, much more nervous now as he placed a soft kiss to her cheek as well, much closer to her lips than her kiss had been. She stepped up another step, keeping her eyes on his before smiling and turning to head up the stairs much quicker than before. He waited until she was much further until groaning out loud,

"Merlin, help me," and he followed her up the stairs.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Ha I did it! I may be late for work now, but still, it's out! Got this out on April 1****st****, though there was the whole party I was hoping to go for, but I thought this was a nice, not full of pranks, alternative. Hope you thought the same. I will be writing again immediately, so watch for the next chapter soon.**

**Thanks, AJ**


	8. Alcoholic Pasta

**Thanks for the feedback, appreciate every one of them. It makes butterflies fly around my chest every time I read one.**

**To the reviewer asking about the Quills, I double checked for you, and they are called Black Quills. Thanks for making me rethink it! That's totally what I need. **

**Large AN at the end with a few questions…**

**No, I don't own them. Wish I had the twins, but eh, whatcha gonna do?**

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The pop of Apparition filled the foyer of Grimmauld Place, startling Kreacher so badly he caused the tea tray he had been carrying towards Ginny and Harry to topple over and make a great mess on the sitting room carpet.

"Kreacher!" Harry groaned, but Ginny waved her fiancé's concern away, going to meet whoever had appeared. The house elf sullenly began to clean up, apologizing under his breath. Ginny ignored both of them, turning the corner to see a frazzled Hermione standing near the door, like she hadn't quite figured out where she was yet.

"Hermione? What is it?" The bushy haired witch looked up at her friend, her eyes wide, and hands clasped together tightly. Ginny took a quick look over her, but her clothes were fine and unruffled, and she didn't seem like she was in any physical pain. Her eyes were what was beginning to frighten her, wide and glossy, like she was in a daze. "'Mione, what happened!"

"I think I just got engaged."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

They reached the flat's door and Fred reached round her to open it so she wouldn't have to move Treacle. She tried to ignore his hand brushing along her side, and forced herself not to run into the room. Instead she took a few calm steps in and bent down to allow Treacle ample room to jump away and begin roaming around the flat. As the kitten took the time to sniff at everything, Hermione took the time to wonder if Treacle had ever been in the flat before, or if Fred had only allowed her up here because she had been holding her.

"Did you want to help me make something? It'll be quicker than ordering." Hermione peeked at him over her shoulder, already moving to the kitchen. It wasn't very big, with an island counter doubling as the dining table with four taller chairs around it. The sink, stove, and fridge were all along one wall, with two flat cupboards beside the sink. It was built comfortably for two, suiting Fred and George's constant working companionship.

"May as well, though I should warn you, I really don't know how to cook real food." He whispered this last bit right next to her ear as he stepped closer, overcoming her smaller strides to the kitchen. A pretty blush covered her face, making him grin after he turned to face his kitchen once more. She joined him soon after, immediately washing her hands, though she had to search for soap before noticing the hidden bottle stuffed behind an empty bottle of Firewhisky. He decided to ignore the small glare she shot at him, knowing she already figured it was George that was in the kitchen more than he anyway. Treacle decided then to join them, jumping up onto the island to be nearer to Hermione. She didn't bother to ask for directions around the kitchen, opening multiple cupboards and the fridge, eventually pulling ingredients together.

"How do you even know what to do?" Fred finally asked her, once she was beginning to mix some kind of red sauce. He gave up on even pretending he knew what was happening when she added wine to the sauce pan. "Are we getting the pasta drunk then?"

She turned to give him a quick playful glare before setting the sauce on a lower heat, and turned fully to face him once again, "No smarty pants, it makes the sauce taste different. And it's fancy." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, making a delightful blush stain her cheeks.

"Trying to seduce me with alcoholic pasta Miss Granger?"

"What if I am?" He paused when she said this, goofy grin falling away. "And the pasta is not _alcoholic._" He shook himself from the moment of shock to again tease her about the food.

"No, _you_ are. But I won't bring it up; I know it's a soft spot." She only rolled her eyes at him, draining the pasta with a wave of her wand, while she manually finished the sauce. Once she had finished, Fred took out two plates from the higher cupboard and placed them delicately on the island and then Accio-ed two wine glasses from above Hermione's head by the stove. She ducked naturally, like she had done this hundreds of times, and it made his stomach clench.

"Alright, try this then," she served a large scoop of sauce covered pasta, with a large amount of cheese on it. She paused, and then decided to add another scoop to his plate. He grinned; glad she knew the Weasley stomach systems so well. "Double drinks now? Alcohol pasta not enough for you?" She teased, but he only smiled, pouring a bit of wine into her glass.

"May as well make the most of this. Some liquid luck may be necessary."

Hermione swallowed her sip of wine, "We are wizards, if we really need luck we can brew some up. We'll be fine." He sighed, fighting the need to grin at her no nonsense attitude.

"Will we? 'Cause I'm honestly still freaking out 'Mione." She finally looked him in the eye, and he noticed how wide hers were. She was frightened too, but hiding it much better than he was. "And you're as frightened as I am." She nodded, taking another sip of wine, cringing when she sipped too much at once. She nodded, looking down at her plate, her fork twisting a strand of spaghetti around until it unfurled and began again in the other direction.

"I'm surprised I'm still sitting here to be honest. I've been so nervous to talk to you; I don't even want to come out today because I knew Ginny would take me here. I _really_ didn't remember it was your birthday today." She smiled to herself, still not looking up from her plate. The tight feeling in his stomach relaxed as he watched her fiddle next with her napkin, which she had set for herself and hadn't bothered for one for him. She couldn't seem to settle her fingers, but he continued to watch her hands move about nervously. Finally, after she had neared shredding the napkin, he reached across and laid his hand onto hers, settling the movements to a halt.

"So if we're both so nervous about this, why don't we just get this out of the way and talk about this?" She stopped, pulling her hands to her lap, where unknown to him, she began fiddling with her fingertips.

"That would make sense, wouldn't it?" He only nodded, smiling gently at her and stood up, lifting his plate to dump it in the sink to deal with it later. She followed him closely, leaving her plate on the side of the sink instead of adding to the mess. They walked into the living room, Fred taking control of the couch immediately, sprawling out from end to end. Hermione didn't stop to ponder the arrangement, taking the seat right next to his head, one turned just right to face the fireplace.

"How do we start?" Hermione asked, not seeing the smirk cross Fred's face. He was sure not knowing how to handle this was killing the little bookworm inside her.

"How do we start every conversation? We talk, topics come up, we converse about those topics." she tapped the side of his head, but otherwise ignored him. Instead she continued to watch the fire dancing in the grates.

"Are you upset I was matched with you?" It was so unexpected a response, Fred couldn't seem to make his lips form words, gaping like a fish at the young witch. She wasn't fiddling nervously, or blushing after showing her feelings without another thought.

He finally snapped to attention, sitting up right in front of her on the couch, "Why in the name of Godric would you think that? Did I say something to make you think I wasn't happy about this?"

She seemed surprised, "You're happy? In this situation, being forced together without consent or properly dating before even thinking of being together forever; and you're happy? Because that's what we're doing Fred, we have to be in each other's company, all the time, and eventually need to start, erm, a family." Now her cheeks turned a light pink, but he didn't even register it.

"Hermione," he grabbed her hands, keeping them firmly clasped between his, leaving barely an inch of space for movement, "I need you to look at me right now," she looked away from the fire, large brown chocolate eyes hitting his face immediately, "We are going to do this. You may think I'm saying this because I have no choice, but in all honestly, and you can ask George if you'd like, but I was ecstatic when I saw your name. I was so incredibly happy when I actually realized what pulling your name out of that envelope meant for me. It means your mine to impress. You're the one I get to see every day, laugh at inside jokes with, and make crazy alcoholic dinners with," Hermione couldn't stop the giggle slipping from between her lips. He smiled at her and continued, quieter than before,

"And you will be the one I get to kiss good night, and give a kiss to in the morning." He wasn't sure if he was even saying this aloud, he had said this so silently. Judging by the delighted smile on her face, she had definitely heard him. "And I know we're too young, but we're going to have a baby together. And I'm insanely happy you are the mother of my future child. Our wedding too, I don't care how common or lavish you want it, I'm going to show up regardless, because it's you I'm marrying. Not some stranger I met, but the girl I've fancied for years." He couldn't look away from her, the chocolate brown getting misty with tears, and a small grin couldn't seem to disappear as she listened to him.

Hermione's heart was beating so heavily, she could hear it thudding in her ears. Everything Fred was saying was sending small shock waves throughout her body, her stomach tingling in anticipation. Anticipating what exactly she didn't know, but she was hanging off every word he was saying. This was insane; Fred Weasley was not supposed to fall for her, the know-it-all Prefect who disliked most of his pranks. He was gorgeous; his Weasley-esqe hair was grown to just under his ears, he had always been fit from years of Quidditch, and she secretly delighted in the fact that he was only slightly shorter than Ron. She had always hated the fact she had to crane her neck back to look Ron in the eyes. This man was not fit to fall for her. But she couldn't stop the selfish part of her that wanted him to like her, because it would make it so much easier to admit she fancied him as well.

"Oh Fred," she finally said, but to him it sounded like she was distressed.

"Hermione, wait, just please," he kept her hands in his; giving them a squeeze, "listen. I just want you to know how I feel, because this still has to happen, but if we're going to be awkward and-"

Hermione wrestled one of her hands out of his and clapped it over his mouth, "Fred, stop. I know." He frowned in confusion, his eyes scrunching up into slits. "I do too." He pushed her hand away, frown receding.

"You do what?"

"I fancy you too." The frown came back, and he sat back as if to look her over for an oddity.

"No, you fancied Ron. I asked him, he said he was going to ask you eventually so I backed off. George had to remind me a few times, but I stayed away." She smiled at him softly, her eyes melting once more in front of him.

"I had a small crush on Ron in fourth year, but that went away in almost the same year. Though, my crush on you started the year before that anyways, so I suppose you still win anyway." He blinked owlishly at her, not having anything to say to that. "Fred, I've liked you for years too. But I never said anything because everyone expected me and Ron to be together. It got to the point where I expected it, and I leaned on it. I even kissed him in the middle of the Hogwarts battle. But when we heard about this law, we both snapped out of it, and told each other we wouldn't work and told Kingsley not to match us up. When he asked who I would like, I didn't say anyone, and it wasn't until we left his office did I feel like a right prat. I should have said your name Fred; but it wouldn't have been fair to you, we had never said anything to one another about this, and I couldn't believe I had thought of that,

"When I pulled your name out of that envelope, I could have fallen over or launched myself across the table and kissed you. This is the best partnership we could have hoped for in this situation, Fred. And I'm not upset, or sad. I'm happy, and I can't wait to start now that I know you think the same thing." Fred was completely silent, still blinking at her like he couldn't quite see her in front of him. Finally, without another moment of hesitation, he leaned in and captured her lips with his. She gasped quickly, but kissed him back without question. This is what they were waiting for; this was what she had wanted for years. They continued to snog for several minutes, ignoring the darkening windows looming behind them. She couldn't pull herself away from him, her lips were beginning to feel chapped, but then he used the tip of his tongue to line her bottom lip, and she opened for him with a sigh. Once he moved away and trailed down her neck, she opened her eyes and really noticed how dark it was in the room.

"Fred, we should stop." he groaned, but his kisses slowed down gradually to laving one last soft kiss in the crook of her neck and shoulder. They stayed entwined, and Hermione realized they had both moved to lie on the couch.

"That was probably a bit much for a first kiss, yeah?" she giggled at his mumbled question, directed mostly into her shoulder. She silently congratulated herself on wearing the vest Ginny had made her buy today I one of the Muggle shops that had hit before arriving in Diagon Alley.

"Probably, but who cares?" He sat up slowly, resting his head on his hand, and wrapped his other around her waist, leaving his fingers to trail her hip. She didn't even try to stop the shiver running through her.

"Hermione Granger, who knew you, could be so conforming?" She laughed softly, but didn't say anything further, lifting her hand to touch his hair, moving it away from his eyes. They didn't say anything, sitting in the silent living room until Hermione noticed they were actually still alone.

"Where's George? Shouldn't he be home by now?" Fred snorted into her hair, nuzzling her ear once before lifting his head up to look at her.

"At Angelina's, where I'm sure he will be staying for the night and most of tomorrow." She blushed again, but turned her head away so he wouldn't see it. The flat was now completely dark, the only light coming from the half open bathroom door. They didn't say anything, just lay together and held one another.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"I honestly don't know what to do now without scaring you away." He smiled at her nervously and she grinned back, sitting up a little to relieve the pressure on her back from the couch arm. He shifted with her, eventually sitting up to sit face to face with one another. "I want to ask you to stay over, but I'm thinking that's not going to happen. Which is fine! Just, letting you know what's going on in my head, as we are being completely open with one another," he babbled on, the grin beginning to grow on his face, making her push him away, his laughter getting louder as he fell away.

"You jerk, that's not nice."

Fred sat up again, kissing her lightly, and she fell into him before sitting up in embarrassment, "Sorry, but I thought opening this with a joke would work for us." She leaned back, looking into his eyes once more.

"Opening what, what are we doing, I think I missed something." She was incredibly confused, but his nervousness was making her stay silent. He moved to sit extremely close to her, dropped her hands back onto her lap. She watched him wipe the palms of his hands against his jeans and suddenly had a bad feeling hit the pit of her stomach.

"Hermione," he whispered, but she fought the urge to lean in to hear him better, "I know we literally just got comfortable with one another, but I know this is something you would want were our situation any different. You're the type of witch that likes order, and I know for a fact you even organized Ginny's school trunk before we left for Hogwarts each year,

"But now that we're on the same level, and I know we can make this work together, I want to make this Muggle-official for you as well." He slipped off of the couch, kneeling on front of her, laying his hands on her knees.

"Fred, are you-"She stopped with a small choke, as he felt under the couch, and pulled out a small red velvet drawstring bag. It wasn't ornate or very large, but it still caused her to catch her breath instantly. "Oh Merlin," she whispered, lifting her hands to cover her mouth, in case she said something to ruin the moment for him.

"I've really no idea how to do this properly, and I'm sure I've royally screwed this up already, but Hermione, will you marry me?"

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"What did you say!?" Ginny practically screamed into her friend's face, handing her another cup of steaming tea, the bushy haired witch cradling it gratefully in her hands. Hermione shot her friend a sarcastic glare and wagged her hand in front of her, showing the flashy white gold band around her finger. "Right, I know, but I still want to hear the rest of the story!"

Hermione sighed, playing with the string of her tea bag as to waste time, "I said yes," Ginny squealed rather girlishly, and propped her chin up on her hand.

"And? Did you shag?" Hermione choked on the sip of tea she had finally taken, putting the mug back on the table and purposely glaring at her red haired friend now.

"No! No of course not, I came here!" Ginny looked rather put out, but bounced back quickly with more questions.

"Did you think about it though? I shagged Harry after he proposed." Hermione put her tea down, completely finished with even trying to drink it any further.

"Gin, I _really _don't want to know that about my best friend! He's practically my brother." Ginny shrugged but then screwed up her nose in disgust.

"Now that I think of it, I don't really want to know about one of my brothers doing that with you. Never mind, let's promise not to mention that type of thing anymore." Hermione nodded in agreement, and they even shook on it, both girls thoroughly disgusted. They drank their tea in silence for a few moments before Ginny broke out into giggles. Hermione looked at her strangely, before dissolving into laughter as well.

"We're getting married 'Mione." Ginny whispered through a giggle, laughing even harder once she managed to say it. Hermione chuckled too, calming down much faster than Ginny.

"Yes, and we're not even twenty."

"Oh Merlin, we're a mess. Let's clean ourselves up and send you back home, eh? It's been a long night for you I suppose." Hermione nodded but couldn't help asking, though it could be considered rude,

"Can I not stay here tonight?" Ginny gave her friend a pitying look and shook her head in the negative.

"Sorry Hermione, the place still hasn't been cleaned properly. The only room really livable is mine and Harry's; Kreacher only managed to upkeep that one and the kitchen." Hermione nodded in understanding, not wanting to inconvenience the house elf nor her friends.

"No that's fine; I'll head back to your mum's. Our room is still good to use. I'll see you both later, tell Harry bye for me." Ginny nodded to her, and watched her friend Apparate out of the house. Harry came around the corner almost instantly, wrapping an arm around her waist as she continued to stare at the empty chair Hermione had vacated.

"She's happy, don't worry about her. It takes her a while to process some things, that all." Harry mumbled into his fiancées ear, feeling her nod and relaxes in his grip before leaving a few kisses up her neck.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The Burrow was still lit up warmly, the chimney billowing out dark gray smoke that smelt rather like Floo Powder. Once she had gathered herself, Hermione began the small trek up to the front stoop. Her mind was racing and her hand felt distinctly heavy, but she couldn't make herself look at the ring too closely. It didn't feel real enough for her to get happy about this big step her and Fred had taken. Mrs. Weasley must have heard her drop in, as the matronly woman was standing in the open doorway with a puzzled look permanently imbedded in her brow.

"Hermione dear, are you quite alright?" She allowed herself to be collected into a quick hug but nodded to the woman, not wanting her to worry over her.

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley, just thought I could stay the night here. Grimmauld isn't very clean yet for guests." Mrs. Weasley tutted over this, but pulled the girl into her home, enveloping her in instant warmness.

"Well, bustle yourself up to your room dear. You're looking a bit peaky. Had tea with Ginny then?" Hermione nodded her assent, already moving to the grand staircase that would take her to a warm bed, "Good, have a good sleep dear, I'll be making blueberry muffins tomorrow." Hermione smiled behind a yawn, secretly glad to be receiving a favourite breakfast choice. Her appetite had been growing over the last several weeks, and she was very proud to say most of the weight had gone to her chest, something that had never happened while growing up.

Once she reached to lofty room on the second floor, Hermione immediately slumped down to the cot before revaluating and slinking into Ginny's much larger, comfier bed. She groaned in a pleased way, and fell to sleep rather quickly, soft snores soon escaping. It was hours later, once Mrs. Weasley had been shooed to bed by her husband, and the remaining Weasley boys had gone off to their own beds, Fleur already settled hours before hand, did the Burrow kitchen door squeak open. A freckled hand shot out to stop it in its tracks, the ominous squeak silencing itself immediately. A lanky, broad set of shoulders shuffled into the kitchen, re-latching the locks on the door, and placing the correct Safety charms over the threshold. Once finished, the red haired boy made his way across the kitchen, through the living room with the dimmed fireplace, and made his way up the stairs to the second floor. He took extra care when passing by his brother, Charlie's, door as the man tended to sleep lightly from years of dragon taming. Once cleared, he opened the next door on the right, swinging it open gently to reveal one small mound on the bed in the center of the lovely blue room. He toed his shoes off as he shut the door, the latch catching with a soft tick, undetected throughout the rest of the house. Once encased in the room alone, he removed his jacket before crawling steadily across the bed, landing next to the soft pile in the center. Reaching a hand out, he poked the soft cheek peeking out of the mound of bushy brown hair. She twitched gently and squinted out of one eye, keeping the other firmly closed as she checked out what had been bothering her.

"Fred, what are you doing in my bed?" The red head grinned, leaning into leave a quick kiss on her cheek.

"I thought it would be rather obvious," Hermione scoffed, pushing his face away, but he only lay next to her, leaving only his hand on her side. "Kidding Granger, I just wanted to sleep. The flat was too quiet." Hermione relaxed, a small grin pulling at her lips at the thought of Fred coming to her without another thought when he was lonely. She nodded and shuffled over to make room for his much larger body, missing his pleased grin as he nosed his way under the coverlet, leaving a respectable amount of space between them. He replaced his arm over her waist, keeping a small amount of space between them still as he whispered a soft good night. He leaned back and used the other pillow, leaving Hermione with her own to use. He waited a few minutes, and began to drift off when he heard a soft scoff and shuffling from the witch next to him. In the next second, his face was filled with bushy hair and a small body was squished into his side. Her arms wrapped around his waist, making his own arm tighten around her body, almost completely circling her.

"G'Night Fred," she said not too quietly and fell promptly back to sleep. With one last large grin, Fred nestled down in the bedding, and fell asleep with his witch.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Aww, I'm so proud of myself for getting through that incredibly mushy scene. I especially liked how I started this off with a cliffie, made me feel good about myself. I thought for a moment they may have been moving too fast, but later convinced myself it went smoother than I thought. Opinions?**

**Thank to every single reviewer who's said such wonderful things about this story so far. I don't usually go out of my way to personally respond to a review unless it has a pressing question, in which I will answer you as soon as able. **

**If anyone has any type of scene they like or dislike in Marriage Law fics, please tell me now or forever hold your peace, as we will soon be coming to the weddings. Cheesy or not, let me know and I work 'em in classily. **

** Thanks, AJ**


	9. Crookshanks' Foe

****Re-posted June 4/15, sorry about the horrible glitch. I fixed the paragraphs**

**Okay, this chapter is really all fluff with no real plot in it. Just Fremione relationship; which I guess in hindsight is kind of plot. **

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The garden had collected an absurd amount of gnomes in the last several weeks. With everyone busy with their own wedding problems, and all seven of Mrs. Weasley's children working or going out during the day, the house had been neglected. Once everyone had arrived this morning for breakfast, Mrs. Weasley was quick to assign everyone to jobs to get her house back in working order. Hermione had been sent out to the garden promptly with Ron to rid the garden of the new generation of gnomes it had collected.

"If one more of these bloody gnomes bite me I might revert to using an Unforgivable Curse." Ron snarled as another one ran across his feet and tried to nip at him before jumping into a large hole. Hermione turned around and glared at his back, but he missed it when he tried to grab another one that slipped between her fingers. She would have told him to go back inside to help his mother with something else, but she had long since found this too amusing to allow him to leave. She and Crookshanks were doing rather well on their own, but Hermione had a feeling Crookshanks found Ron amusing as well.

"You're doing fine, Ronald. Stop cursing at them and they may not bite as hard." She saw the glare he sent her, but turned to hide her answering grin.

"Don't see why _I _had to be the one out here with you, I mean, Fred's here isn't he?" Hermione froze for a moment, but only nodded and continued to pull at the weeds, hoping the disturbance in the dirt would make a few gnomes run out.

"Yes, but he's also leaving in a few minutes to help George at the shop. You're the one that doesn't have a job to get to, Ron." a heavy sigh sounded right behind her, but she continued to ignore him, well aware of his ignorance to the importance of getting a paying job.

"I don't even get why he was here for breakfast anyways, George didn't show up, did he? Just Fred, which is really weird if you ask me,"

"I didn't ask you, Ron! Just, throw a gnome, and shut it!" her cheeks were burning but she still refused to look at him. He was strangely silent as she continued to pull at the weeds when a smallish gnome suddenly ran out from under a pile of compost, and darted away. Crookshanks nabbed it before it could get any further, and dragged it back to Hermione. She patted her cat's head fondly, took the gnome out of his mouth and twirled it over her head, ready to throw it over the fence.

"Did you sleep with Fred last night?" She stumbled, and the gnome went flying the wrong direction entirely, going a few feet before smacking into a tree and falling face first into a pile of unearthed potatoes. After making sure Crookshanks was on the dizzy gnome, Hermione spun around to look at Ron. He was watching the gnome in amusement before looking back at her, his amusement only growing.

"No! We did nothing of the sort. He came over because he was the only one in the flat, so we just, slept." She finished off lamely, looking away from Ron, who hadn't stopped grinning madly.

"Alright, sure."

She went over and smacked his arm, "I swear we slept! I was already half asleep when he came in. Oh, don't you dare!" She pointed into his face, and he laughed out loud. She continued to ignore his laughter, turning back to supervise her cat stalking more gnomes than they had been able to gather all morning. The pop of someone Apparating distracted her long enough to see one of the twins moseying his way up to the garden, something cradled in his arms. Another quick look over her shoulder told her it wasn't her twin and spun to give George a welcoming grin.

"Well hello party animal, how was your night?" George stepped right up to the low fence, delivering his own saucy grin, and revealing Treacle lying lazy in his arms.

"Only a bit better than yours, I imagine. Gonna have to make my brother an honest man sooner than expected, Granger?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she felt once more, the familiar rush of blood go through her cheeks.

"Oh, I know Fred would have told you everything already, don't joke. Hello Treacle!" She swerved straight to the cat, ignoring any further embarrassing conversation with George. The half-Kneazle meowed loudly, like she was vying for her complete attention. Hermione gladly gave it, stroking the sleek coloured fur on her back, going with the arch Treacle made in a stretch. "Oh you beautiful girl, did the mean ginger take you away from your comfy bed?" Treacle meowed sadly, her fur turning down in an incredible pout. Cooing once more to her, Hermione lifted her gently out of George's arms, tutting and mewling to the kitten. Treacle did nothing but preen, purring incessantly as she received constant petting. Ron finally peeked over her shoulder at the new cat, poking at her large ears with a finger.

"You didn't seriously buy another one of these did you 'Mione?"

George looked a little shy when he raised his hand feebly, "No, this one's mine." Ron looked up at his brother in complete astonishment, but continued to pet the cat. Hermione couldn't help but smirk, knowing he was only still petting it because she looked nicer than Crookshanks. She had no doubt when he found out she was a Kneazle he would be singing a different tune.

"Fred let you get a cat? Did you lock him up and threaten him? Why would_ he_ let a cat in the- oh, never mind." He glanced at Hermione and Treacle, and thought better of saying anything further. She finished petting the kitten and placed her on the same side of the fence as her, allowing the Kneazle to roam around.

"Why'd you bring her over?"

"Fred mentioned Crookshanks was helping you out in the garden, and suggested me bringing Treacle over to help him out." Hermione smiled and went back to watching Treacle stalking her first spotted gnome. Crookshanks had stopped dead in his tracks, his tail spiked full up in the air, and his beady eyes aimed straight to Treacle. The female half-Kneazle didn't seem to care another cat had seen her, as she continued to stalk the gnome perfectly, jumping on it in the next second. The gnome didn't see it coming, complete shock written across its face, and it had no time to move before Treacle had swung it over the fence in a perfect arch, following it over in one graceful bound. Crookshanks watched her jealously, but turned tail and tried to catch his own gnome, having to try three times before successfully nabbing one. Proudly, he brought it to Hermione, his chest puffed in pride and the gnome squirming so hard it fell on its face and ran back into the bushes. Crookshanks watched it go sadly, and Treacle meowed at him from her seat on the fence. Hermione, Ron and George all laughed at the cats, watching Crookshanks turn his back on Treacle and try to nab his gnome again.

"That relationship doesn't look like it will last," George motioned to the heckling Treacle, who had moved to lean into a rose bush and pulled another gnome out of the branches.

"Hopefully they get over it," Hermione said sadly, watching Crookshanks try his hardest to catch another. Ron seemed confused, but continued to watch the cats, "Because they'll eventually have to spend more time with one another."

Ron tried to look like he understood, but eventually gave up and looked to his brother. George rolled his eyes at his younger brother, "She and Fred are together Ronniekins. Basic math," Ron's eyes widened understanding and smirked at the ginger haired cat trying his hardest to prove himself worthy to his witch. They spent another half hour watching the half-Kneazle's work, until eventually the garden no longer squirmed with loose gnomes.

"Looks like we're all done then, are you coming in for lunch George?" Hermione asked the lone twin, moving to pluck Crookshanks up before he glared a hole into the calico kitten. George agreed and followed to two in to the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley was just beginning to chop potatoes into chips.

"All finished in the garden dears?" The three nodded, and Hermione placed Crookshanks on a seat where he preened for Mrs. Weasley and was rewarded with a plate of milk. George then placed Treacle on the chair next to him, where she promptly jumped up to the table. "Who is this lively one then?" Treacle mewed back up at Mrs. Weasley and was given her own milk.

"This is Treacle; she's Fred and George's new kitten." Mrs. Weasley smiled fondly and pets the sleek fur.

"Why on earth did Fred get a cat?" Hermione threw her hands up in the air, ignoring Ron's mad grin in her direction.

"Did everyone but me know Fred hates cats?" It took a moment, but all three of them nodded to her and she gave up, "Right,"

"And I hope this one knows this is the only time she can sit on the table. Chairs from now on," Mrs. Weasley gave a nod to Treacle, who blinked up at her in understanding. Crookshanks just glared at the other cat, and drank his milk aggressively until he was finished and loped off to some corner of the house. Hermione giggled at her cat, and took a seat at the table. Just after sitting down, Fred and Harry arrived from the back door, completely covered in green slime.

"Dear lord, what is_ that_?" Hermione exclaimed loudly, covering her nose up with both hands. George pinched his nose together, and Ron threw his entire arm over his face, making sure to cover both mouth and nose. Fred smirked from under the slime and began clearing himself with a quick _Scourgify._

"Don't be rude 'Mione, it's not Harry's fault his looks aren't up to your standards." Harry glared at Fred, hitting the red head with a sharp poke of his wand. They finished cleaning themselves off, the stench only dissipating slightly, but the two boys took no notice of it, sitting down at the table with Hermione.

"We were cleaning out the broom cupboard, but the old Cleansweep must have caught something," Harry stopped talking, a revolted look crossing his face. Fred only grinned and plucks something green from his hair.

"It blew boogies all over every few minutes. It was wicked." George grinned at his twin, nodding along at the idea of a broom sneezing everywhere. Hermione only looked at the boys in disgust, deciding it was time to ignore them. Fred had another idea, changing the subject from broom boogies to the cat currently lapping up cream.

"Why is this thing here? Now it will know where to find me," he sneered at the cat, who continued to drink with no notice of her wizard having arrived.

Molly looked like she was enjoying herself too much watching her son walk around the cat in a large circle to seat himself opposite of Hermione and Treacle.

"She's a lovely little thing Freddie, I'm sure she's not so bad." Fred gave his mother a dry look and pushed his chair back to further himself from the cat.

"She's a spawn of the devil. Actually, I'm pretty sure she lived with Voldemort for the first year of her life, and then ran away because he wasn't evil enough for her!" George burst into erratic laughter when Treacle popped her head up, stared at Fred, and licked her lips slowly. "She's gonna eat me!"

"Fredrick Gideon Weasley, she is a cat, not a monster. Just because she's half-Kneazle doesn't make her trouble. Just pet her, let her sit on you every few days, and don't starve her and nothing can go wrong." All the boys and Mrs. Weasley stared at Hermione in shock, none more so than Fred.

"She's half Kneazle?" Mrs. Weasley finally asked, even more enthralled with the kitten perched on her kitchen table.

"How do you know my middle name!?" Fred burst out, no longer bothered by the cat making her way to his side of the table, and finished with her cream. Hermione smirked at Fred, leaning back in her chair, relaxed now that she had defended the kitten. Fred stared at her, his eyes flitting from her eyes to the cat, and back to her face. Finally he turned to Ron, his face turning bright red, "Ronald!" Ron turned scarlet and babbled something out, nothing coming out making any sense. Fred turned back to Hermione, a pout beginning on his face.

"It's not my fault! The door in Kingsley's office asked me and I had to answer to get in." Ron burst out; Fred and George gave him strange looks, but Fred was too preoccupied to heckle his younger brother further. Treacle had made her way right to Fred's face, sitting on the very edge of the table, leaning in to practically touch their noses together. He stopped completely, a staring contest beginning instantly between the wizard and the half-Kneazle. It only took three minutes, with everyone else making no noise before Fred finally broke, throwing his hands up in defeat and allowed Treacle to plop herself on his lap. She took a moment to make herself comfortable, kneading Fred's jeans before curling up and falling asleep completely. Fred kept his hands up in the air like it was a neutral zone so he could make no contact with the fur ball in his lap. He glared back at George when his twin finally chortled, unable to keep it in any longer.

"Sorry Fred," Hermione grinned at the distressed red head that still hadn't put his hands down to touch the cat.

"Uh huh," he mumbled, but peeked up at her and screwed his nose up into an adorable grimace, and slowly brought his hand down to drag his fingers down her back once. Treacle stretched out, completely relaxed on the rigid lap Fred had made for her. Hermione grinned at him, making sure not to laugh at the picture he was making.

"I think she likes you, Freddie."

"Shut it, Georgie."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Hours later, after the house had been cleaned, and everyone fed, Mrs. Weasley was saying goodbye to Harry.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for another night, Harry dear? It's really no trouble." Harry only grinned at Mrs. Weasley, grabbing his wand and sticking it in his back pocket as his last item to pack up.

"I know, but I do need to get back to Grimmauld Place. It's still completely dirty, and Kreacher needs some looking after too." Hermione smiled at her friend, waving him goodbye before turning to the living room where Fred and George were prepping to leave for their flat. Harry hadn't reattached Grimmauld's fireplace to the floo network, so he had to Apparate. George and Fred on the other hand, had never turned their fireplace off and were able to Floo back quickly. George stepped in first, Treacle climbing in after him, and sitting patiently by his feet for the wizard to send them off.

"See you later, Granger." George winked at the bushy haired witch, threw floo powder at his feet whilst yelling out, "Weasley Wizard Wheezes!" He disappeared in a bright flash of orange only the Weasley twins could accomplish. Hermione had honestly never found out how they, unlike any other Floo user, could control the colours of their Floo travel. Before stepping in to follow his brother, Fred peeked around the doorway to see if his mother had sent Harry off yet. She was just packing him with more wrapped Treacle Tarts and looked like she would be trying to keep him for much longer. Mother properly distracted, Fred turned back to Hermione quickly.

Without saying a word, he leaned down and captured her lips in a searing, soft kiss. She barely had time to react or respond before he pulled back a couple inches to smile at her.

"You wouldn't want to come over tonight, would you?" He whispered gently, causing a blush to run over her cheeks. She silently cursed her father for having such light skin, and her mother for her tendency to blush at every moment.

"I don't know if I would be more scared of your mother, or your sister," she whispered back, causing Fred to bite his tongue quick to stop himself from laughing and giving them away to Mrs. Weasley.

"They both have their own special quality to their scariness." Fred mumbled into her lips, his breath rushing over her face. She didn't think about being embarrassed or shy any longer as she leaned into him, starting the kiss again. He tried not to grin into the snog, distracting himself with twirling his fingers into her hair and giving them each a separate tug. With his hands occupied, Fred couldn't pull her closer without using the wall behind her, and that would most definitely signal his mother.

"Fred, go home. I'll see you tomorrow." He heard her whisper between their lips, but he only groaned at her in disagreement and just let go of her hair to clutch at her hips roughly. Now able to pull her closer, Fred did so with relish and mashed their lips closer and making a squeak emanate from Hermione.

"If you go home with me I can see you tomorrow morning." He whispered back after another tense moment, both completely aware how open they were being. She gave him one more push, actually breaking the lip-lock this time and propelling him towards the fireplace.

"I will see you tomorrow morning, because you'll mooch breakfast off your mother. Go away, good night." He grinned over his shoulder at her, blowing a dramatic air kiss her way before following his brother through the fireplace, disappearing in a puff of orange smoke. Hermione stared at the fireplace grate stupidly, before shaking herself out and turning around to grab a glass of water to take upstairs with her. Her whole body stopped when she saw Mrs. Weasley standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, watching Hermione with a small smirk on her face, reminiscent of the devilish twins she had raised.

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough to tell you I'm alright if you'd like to comeback in the morning." Mrs. Weasley smiled even wider at Hermione, who was still only staring at the older witch. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes and sighed with a small laugh. "Hermione, I've seen my sons in love before. I know what to look for and I've learned to ignore, or allow," she amended at Hermione's slightly scared look, "my children to do as they like. I know you too; I know you're mature and have a plan inside that big brain of yours. If you want to go, I know you'll be responsible, and I'll see you in the morning." Hermione closed her mouth, realizing she had let her jaw drop somewhere in the one sided conversation.

"I don't know if I," she stopped, having to swallow quickly before she choked.

"You do, it's alright my dear. I'll leave you to it." Mrs. Weasley gave Hermione one more smile, squeezed her shoulder as she passed her in the room to cross to the staircase, and walked up to her and Mr. Weasley's room, closing the door silently. Hermione was left alone in the living room, standing in the center of the carpet, staring up at the bedrooms. It only took her another moment to decide, grabbing her beaded purse from behind the couch in its hidden spot, checking her wand was in her pocket, fluffed her hair, and stepped in through the Floo, disappearing in the next second.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"No Granger, Freddie?" George asked as soon as Fred arrived in the living room of their flat above the joke shop, spinning around once to be sure he was where he was supposed to be. It had become a bad habit from the war, double and triple checking his surroundings. For what he didn't know any more, it had just become a habit he couldn't shake.

"No George, go to bed. It's your turn to open the shop in the morning, get a good rest up." George waved him away and mumbled a small good night before closing himself up in his room, the light going off almost immediately. Fred sat down on the couch, too wound up to try and sleep. The image of a thoroughly snogged Hermione wouldn't leave his head, and was starting to affect him all over again. That couldn't have possibly happened to him, not with that lovely witch; not Hermione Granger. He couldn't remember a time he had openly begged a witch for something like sleeping over before. Sure, he'd brought up shagging or a quickie before a Quidditch match, but actually inviting her over just to sleep was driving him a bit mad.

Not another minute later, his Floo lit up and spat out one thoroughly snogged Hermione Granger, small beaded purse in hand and a frightened look on her face. "Hermione? What-?" She practically jumped across the small space, covering his lips with the tip of her finger.

"Not a word, don't ruin it. Your mother sent me, and I'm honestly quite finished with questioning it. Off to bed, yes?" She asked quickly and efficiently, receiving a stupefied nod from Fred. Quickly, Hermione dragged him up and allowed her to be pulled into the room, and shut the door firmly behind them.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**I think that's quite enough of that, only so much mush I can do in one go. Besides, Doctor Who is calling my name now, and I wanted to get this out tonight.**

**Let me know what you think, or don't whateves, I know how many people read it that's all that matters. **

**Thanks, AJ**


	10. Sleeping Over

**Huh, so I had half a story ready to go a couple days ago, my dad took my computer to share my sister's pictures, and I hadn't closed my window. You shall see, judging by the content in this chapter, why I freaked out. I quite literally pulled a cartoon style flail, slipped on a blanket, landed on my cat and my dad, and lost the story. It was very well done. **

**So it's had to start over again, hopefully it still works out lovely.**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

She still hadn't let go of his hand. At this point Hermione wasn't even sure if she could let go now, it would be too obvious she was freaking out. Obviously, she had not thought this through completely. This wasn't like her; she didn't know how to do this. She thought from all those years of bunking with Lavender and Pavarti she would be a lot more prepared for this situation she had put herself in. There was even a small, miniscule piece of her brain that wished she could go back and actually talk about boys like a normal teenage girl. With a small pang in her chest, Hermione realized just how deep she was. She knew Fred was much more experienced with this, while she had barely snogged anyone before. George and Fred Weasley were known around Hogwarts as more than hearty pranksters. Distantly, she was aware Fred was removing their hands from one another and moving to lean against his dresser, opposite from his suddenly imposing bed. Still quite unable to speak, Hermione took to watching the red head try and look relaxed, and very carefully stay away from her eyes. It took another moment of silence before Fred finally had enough and cleared his throat loudly, forcing Hermione to move about, feeling uncomfortable about this whole situation.

"This is your idea, 'Mione. It's up to you." He didn't sound nervous at all, and it grated a bit on Hermione's pride. But she was a Gryffindor after all, and there was a large amount of bravery still left in her system. And he was right, she started it, and Hermione Granger doesn't back down from anything.

"Right," that definitely came out breathier than she wanted. Fred chanced looking at her, and she saw he was very curious about this as well. He couldn't possibly know what was going on in her head right now, but the comforting smile drifting across his lips seemed to say otherwise. "Can we, um, try to, uh," She stuttered out; He smiled at her fully now, his teeth showing happily.

"Whatever you'd like," She didn't smile back, much too nervous to look at him properly anymore. Her legs had begun to shake, and her face felt a hundred degrees warmer than the rest of her body. He sat down on the bright red comforter first, scooting back against the pillows on the headboard. With only a second hesitation, Hermione sat down next to him, moving to sit so her leg was laid right against his. He didn't say anything, and she did nothing to break the tension. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Fred let out a strained laugh. It melted her stiff muscles, but the tight coil in her belly wouldn't leave.

"This is going well I think," He chuckled again, just a little harder when she groaned and put her face in her hands.

"I have no idea what I'm doing." she mumbled out, trying to ignore the dying laughter grow once again.

"Really? I thought it was real smooth up until you froze in the doorway." She couldn't help the snort that slipped through, muffled horribly by her fingers still encasing her face. "What did you want to do? Maybe I can help."

Hermione brought her head up, looking up at him hopefully, "You could take over? That way I won't end up assaulting you, or something." He smiled slyly, but shook his head.

"I don't know what you want 'Mione. You're the one that came here, you obviously wanted something, or had something in mind. Just, do it." She roved her eyes over his face; aware he didn't flush or seem upset about any of this. A new awareness settled over her, the knowledge that Fred was rather content where he was, and wasn't planning on running away from her awkwardness. Not for the first time was Hermione glad the Weasley boys where the epitome of Gryffindors.

This new outlook had her moving before her brain had fully caught up with her body, and quickly found herself straddling Fred's thighs. She peeked up through her eyelashes, making sure he was still staying. The incredulous wide eyes she was met with caused a satisfied smirk to grace her lips, and the nervous butterflies to die down. This time she didn't lose eye contact with him, leaning in the few inches between them and capturing his bottom lip between hers. She had to position herself slightly lower to accommodate his height, even while sitting, but it didn't seem to bother him. No, his eager hands kept her legs right where they were, a small grin breaking their contact for a moment before he took one hand and occupied it in her hair. A thrilling flutter wouldn't stop moving from her chest to the pit of her belly, and teasing her lowest point delightfully. Not wanting to be left behind, Hermione slowly removed her hands from the bedspread, her fingers tingling from the relieved pressure, and trailed her hands from his neck down to the inch just above his belt line. The shiver she felt run through his chest only made her happier in herself at doing something so right. She didn't; move her hands about any more than that, keeping them those few inches above his trousers; she had decided that was a safe enough place without becoming overwhelmed. Fred had other ideas, moving his hands erratically from her hair, to her neck and jaw, to the backs of her shoulder blades, and stopping as low as the dip in her back.

"I whole heartedly give my permission for you to assault me like this at your leisure." She pulled away, giving him a disapproving eyebrow raise, a smile following quickly behind.

"You're a bit of a prat, Fred Weasley,"

"Ah, but I'm your prat now, Hermione Granger." He grinned up at her, allowing her to this time lean down to kiss him once more.

"Yes, I suppose you are." She couldn't help but smile back at him, a wonderful warm feeling spreading through her middle all the way to her toes. They enjoyed each other for minutes more, Hermione wondered at one point if it had hit the next hour yet, but couldn't be bothered to check. By now, Fred had coerced them both gently to lie atop his bed and they had stayed there, neither of them concerned with trying to get under the covers. She couldn't stop herself from continually nipping at his lips, overwhelmed by the fact that she could do this. He in turn wouldn't stop tugging at every single curl in her hair, pulling her head closer or away so he could reach her neck.

"Fred," Hermione whispered after a few lost minutes.

"Hermione?" He teased her quietly, not bothering to detach his lips from the corner of her shoulder. She condoned it for a moment, but had to pull away once he reached her ear, the nerves in her belly about to explode.

"I need to stop," Fred didn't hesitate another second, lifting off of her and shuffling to the side to allow her space. All source of heat disappeared and with it, the feeling of a thousand butterflies fluttering low in her belly settled down, leaving both of them breathing heavier than normal. Once their wheezing had stopped, Fred propped his head up on his hand, looking down at her lying on his pillow. She felt him flick a strand of hair back, so she peeked up at him and noticed how close he still was.

"Are you alright, Granger?" Hermione nodded an affirmative and shuffled over to allow Fred to spread out his legs more. They stayed silent a few minutes more until their breathing had steadied.

"Well, even if the marriage doesn't work in other places, at least we can manage an excellent snog." Fred quipped, resulting in a sharp back hand smack to his chest, and giggles from both of them.

Hermione managed to settle first, "I think we'll be okay." Fred was still chuckling but looked back at her, a smile lingering in his eyes.

"Yeah?" Hermione nodded, her own happy smile reaching her eyes.

"Absolutely," she sat up and placed a quick peck to his cheek and another to his lips before falling back into the pillows, and decided to snuggle under the covers. Fred tried to hide another happy grin and moved underneath the sheets with her, kicking off his socks before encasing them in the fluffy red comforter. He settled right away, ready to pull her closer when she tried to stay on her side. What he hadn't been prepared for, was the full five minutes of tossing back and forth, and wiggling from the bushy haired witch.

"'Mione? What are you doing?" She didn't blush or scoff at him, again surprising him.

"I hate sleeping in so much. I'm trying to get comfortable." This time it was Fred's turn to blush, but she didn't notice it from her constant thrashing. He didn't think before saying,

"You could get, uh, undressed, if you'd like. If it makes you more comfortable," Hermione paused in her moving, looking over her shoulder with a strange, wrinkled look about her face. "No, I mean you're sleeping here, and I want you to be comfortable, you know, and if you sleep like that at home, you know you could do it, uh, here." Her nose had unwrinkled by now, and he could barely see the compressed smile she was keeping held back.

"Oh, you'd be fine with that, huh?" He didn't seem to know if he should nod, but ended up giving her a helpless look anyway. "I got it, Fred."

Without any preamble Hermione shuffled around, squirming out of the dungarees she was wearing and tossed them to the bedroom floor. Amazingly, her face wasn't burning and nervous shakes had long since disappeared. Fred was completely shocked; Miss Bookworm was shocking him every moment of their night together. Once finished and quite settled, Hermione tossed over to face the shocked red head, and smirked at his dropped jaw.

"Much better, thank you."

"Yup, okay, good." she pretended there wasn't a hitch in his voice, instead fluffed up the second pillow to bunch under her head.

Hermione looked Fred over once she was finished and tried to give him a softer smile, but wasn't sure if she managed it over the smirk, "Are you comfortable?" Fred nodded but stopped and looked her over first, like he was trying to judge a pie eating contest. Seemingly satisfied with what he found, Fred sat up and stripped his tee off, throwing it in the same vicinity as Hermione had tossed her trousers. He settled himself back in the bed covers, the both of them facing each other with a bit of challenge sparking between their eyes.

"Well good night then," Hermione quipped, not closing her eyes or turning away. Fred adjusted his head to peek over the pillow case.

"Night,"

Silence followed for an hour, where Hermione eventually gave up and tried to sleep, thinking she had pushed him a bit too far. At the exact moment she began to drift off, her middle was tugged away from her warm spot, and pulled into a wickedly warm chest.

"Now it's a good night,"

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Ginny stormed into her mother's kitchen moments after Hermione and Fred had arrived through the front door. Hermione had wanted to Apparate to give them a few more moments to fix their appearance before appearing before his family. Their morning had been full of a sleepy red head being dragged about by a bushy haired girl, pushing him to shower and change, while his twin stood in the doorway of the flat giggling at the pair. George had woken the two fifteen minutes before they were expected at the Burrow for breakfast, which had Hermione jumping about the flat in her underwear for the first five minutes, trying to tidy and push Fred out of bed.

Hermione shouldn't have worried too much, as Ginny's red hot temper was the only thing anyone was paying attention to. The rest of the table was filled with every other Weasley, who all either watched Ginny or waved quickly to the pair before turning back to the young witch.

"Have you seen this?" The Weasley girl all but screamed out, and Hermione wasn't sure if she was even speaking to her individually or venting to the whole room. The magazine being shoved into her arms was the quick answer. Taking a quick look at the glossy pages she now held, Hermione noticed it was the newest edition of Witch Weekly, the wizarding world's gossip magazine.

"No, why?" But she didn't have to ask really, the blown up picture moving about was completely recognizable. "Is there a reason I'm on the front of this?"

"What?" Fred asked from right next to her, snatching the mag out of her hands to peer at it his self. Hermione couldn't help herself, and pulled his arm down to allow her shorter stance a peek at the magazine. The cover photo was a candid photo of her strolling away from the known Ministry entrance, Harry and Ron's arms just barely visible on either side of her. A large, happy grin was on her face, the picture her looked decidedly happy, her strut could even be deemed hopping. Every time the photo restarted with her bouncing out of the Ministry doors, the headline unwound in a flash, declaring **'Granger Wedding Bliss' **and smaller headlines speckling the sides. Some were this week's favored beauty spells, including her favourite hair tamer. Others were unfortunately about her as well.

"Granger ditches Weasley. War Ravages Young Love. Marriage Law Kind to the Golden Trio? Find out all inside!" Fred announced to everyone, and Hermione didn't miss the twitch of his lips, his enjoyment of her humiliation put to the side for later.

"Where exactly would they have found this out?" Hermione questioned aloud, snatching the brazen gossip rag back from Fred, who pouted back and leaned over her shoulder to continue reading. Ginny scoffed at the cover, folding her arms over her chest.

"I doubt they really know anything. They're just guessing, making people talk about you again." Hermione wrinkled her nose up in distaste at the idea of being in the spotlight once more, but knew it was inevitable being the Chosen One's best friend. She flipped the pages about casually, peeking at what else may have been said about her. There were a few pictures of her and Ron from last year before disappearing with Harry, and others of her walking in Diagon Alley with Ginny. She frowned, flipping back a few pages and realized they didn't have a picture of her and Ginny going into Weasley Wizard Wheezes. She felt silly saying it aloud, but she was a tiny bit upset they hadn't thought to pair her with Fred.

"I'm sure you'll be harassed by reporters soon, 'Mione. Especially when you actually have to get married." Harry spoke up, breaking into their conversation. Ginny relaxed her tense stance, forgetting about the magazine in favor of sitting to visit with Harry. Fred didn't forget it so easily, taking the wicked thing to the table and sitting down to read it thoroughly. Hermione couldn't read it anymore, and walked around to sit across from him instead, pointedly ignoring the studious reading in front of her.

"There hasn't been anything about you yet though, has there?" Harry shook his head in the negative, "Why not? You're much more important than I was! There's nothing special about me!" The incredulous looks she received from the whole table had her confused quickly, "What?"

"Uh, you do know you basically kept us alive for the last seven years, Hermione?" Ron said first, rolling his eyes at his friend who blushed lightly, and looked to Harry to receive an agreeing nod.

"And it doesn't hurt that you're a babe," George spoke up, not bothering to conceal his crudeness. Fred only winked at his twin and went back to reading, while Hermione clutched her wand quite firmly in her sleeve, deciding what sort of frog George would look best as.

"That's true. Not many gorgeous war heroes in the wizarding world. Most have beards or just turned a hundred and one." Charlie piped up as well, shovelling another large spoonful of porridge into his mouth. Hermione debated on a mouse for him. He threw a quick wink at her and added, "Not the same as a brainy looker."

"Charles!" Mrs. Weasley scolded her son, who really didn't seem ashamed of himself. One look at the other males around the table seemed to gather Hermione the same consensus. Fred caught her eye from the seat across from her, and waged his eyebrows quickly, setting off a quick flush to her cheeks. The kitchen was filled with the sound of everyone eating and barely speaking without something in their mouths before an hour later, Mrs. Weasley was beginning to clear everything. Fleur tried to help, but was pushed back down by her mother-in-law and told to rest, but Hermione rolled her eyes and waved her wand quickly underneath the table, clearing everything efficiently. Mrs. Weasley glared quickly at Fleur but noticed she was just as surprised. Hermione instantly received the next glare, but only smiled at the lovely older witch, not apologizing for helping her out.

"What am I going to do with you, Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley finally sighed out in something resembling compliance.

Fred sighed as well, though his came off as much more light-hearted, "Believe me mother dearest, I'm asking myself the same thing." He received a sharp slap from his mother behind him and another from his sister-in-law next to him. The breakfast party broke apart as most of the family had to go off to work. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were the only ones without work, and were left to fend for themselves for the rest of the day. Mrs. Weasley was heading off to do grocery shopping, and Fleur had elected to go with her. It only took a few minutes for Ron to work up the nerve to tell everyone else he had been thinking of going to visit Romilda.

"Ron, that's a good idea. I don't know why you haven't brought it up yet?" Ginny questions her brother, his ears turning a bright red from the positive attention.

"Figured someone'd take the mick out of it," He mumbled, shoving a biscuit into his mouth as a distraction, but his sister was not swayed.

"Well let's grab Pig and owl her, quick before you talk yourself out of it. She's technically your fiancée, which means you do have to speak to one another." Ron grumbled and stood with Ginny, off to grab Pig and quill and paper. Their new errand left Harry and Hermione alone, something the two friends hadn't ha much time for. Hermione almost immediately flipped about to face Harry, who smiled at his friend and got ready to listen.

"How are things, Hermione?" Harry chuckled; watching as she basically unfolded and began to talk about anything, including which book she had recently picked up from Flourish &amp; Blotts. She didn't give him much chance to say anything, but he was quite used to this, and reveled in the familiar flow.

"Are you and Ginny still doing alright? I haven't heard about any wedding plans from her, I'd half expected to be putting together a cake by now."

Harry shook his head in the negative, making sure to watch his friend as he mentioned as casually as possible, "No, I think she's been waiting for you actually. I'm pretty sure she wanted to ask you a couple questions, but she wasn't sure what you and Fred had talked about." the small blush covering the tops of her cheeks was enough answer for Harry, and he felt proud he would have something to tell Ginny this time when she harassed him for answers. "You have talked, right?"

"No as such," she said promptly, turning back to face the rest of the room and not just Harry. He couldn't stop smiling at her; this was a Hermione he hadn't seen in a while.

Oh, alright," He left it alone for a moment, allowing her to relax and believe they were finished, "Where did you disappear to last night?" Harry felt incredibly happy with himself for being able to hold in his burst of laughter at her obvious jump. Her body language turned incredibly nervous, and her hands went straight to her lap, where they clasped together tightly.

"To bed, I thought you went home last night?" Harry nodded, trying to act cool to not give himself away.

"Yeah, but Gin was still here. I left to take care of Kreacher," Hermione's cheeks went pale and she fidgeted more. "She mentioned you Flooed somewhere,"

"Yup," was all she said, but Harry didn't supply another subject of conversation, letting her stew on her own. He knew she would break eventually; it came with being Hermione Granger. She did eventually look at Harry again, a small glare set between her brows.

"You know where I went already, don't you?" Harry only nodded, finally allowing laughter to fall out when she relaxed and rubbed her head, like he was trying to rid herself of a headache.

"Kind of obvious when you showed up with the twins, yeah?" Hermione glared playfully at her friend, but they both eventually dissolved into giggles and laughter, falling easily into their familiar pattern. Ginny took this moment to return to the living room, but she was holding more than Pig. While the tiny owl sat perched proudly on her shoulder, a much larger, brown sleek barn owl was perched prettily on her arm. Harry immediately recognized the Ministry appointed owl, not dissimilar to the one Kingsley had sent.

"This one came just as Ron sat down to write. I don't think it's from Kingsley." Ginny said, allowing the Ministry owl to hop onto the window sill where it sat until Ginny tipped it one of Hedwig's treats, and it took off with an appreciative hoot. Harry took the official looking post from Ginny, bringing it back to sit right next to Hermione, the two opening it together. Hermione barely skimmed it before scoffing and looking at Harry incredulously.

"What is it?" Ginny questioned, curious what would make Hermione behave this way. Harry lifted the letter and read it aloud for Ginny's benefit.

"_Dear Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Ganger,_

_ Due to past instances with the Wizengamot's trial opportunities being endangered by past prejudices, the Ministry cordially invites you to attend the following trials;_

_**Malfoy**__: The Offense of multiple muggles, witches and wizards, including but not restricted to, Miss Hermione Granger. _

_ This summons is mandatory. Please promptly arrive at the Ministry on the twenty-eighth of April, half past the hour of ten. _

_ Thank you for your cooperation. A return answer is not necessary._

_Pennilynn Belby_

_Notary and Secretary to Wizengamot's Chief Wizard, _

_Vincent Ogden"_

Harry stopped and put the letter down on the low table in front of Hermione, "It seems we're not done fighting yet,"

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Man, this took me such a long time, and I apologize. Every time someone followed or favourites, thank you! And I swear it doesn't usually take this long to get a new chapter out of me! **

**Before any one questions who these people are, I've made up the characters of Pennilynn and Vincent as Wizengamot members. I figured it would be easier to make new members then to resurrect so many old characters and lose the integrity of the loss these people went through during the war.**

**Hope you enjoyed, and get ready for the next one soon!**

**Thanks, AJ **


	11. Malfoy Trial

**Good lord I am so sorry this didn't come out until now. I have been so stuck on getting thorough this chapter and I honestly hate it to bits. But it's here now, and I'm sorry it's like this. **

**Also, I am going back to the past chapter, and reworking them a little bit. So if suddenly this is updated but it's like, 'what? There's no new chapter?' it's because I fixed a different one. **

**Hopefully this chapter gets a bit more attention than the last. Please, please let me know your thoughts, especially if I'm not hitting the right niche here. **

**And since I haven't done this in a while, I don't own this. **

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Mr. Weasley worked their way through the Ministry's immense Floo networking room. Mr. Weasley had owled Kingsley earlier, before they left the Burrow, on a subtle entrance into the Ministry, so as not to show Harry off to the world and risk being mobbed. Kingsley had regrettably informed them that the Ministry would be unable to give Harry and the rest of the group any type of security, as most of the Death eaters trials were being held today, and Aurors were hard to come by. So, Hermione had cast a small disillusionment charm on the three of them, hoping to distract most people enough to get by them without a problem. The Malfoy trial wasn't meant to start for another fifteen minutes, but Mr. Weasley was trying his best to rush them down as quickly as possible.

"Dad, slow down a bit, yeah? We've got lots of time," Ron complained, hoping to slow down the speeding older wizard. Mr. Weasley ignored his son; continuing a silent speed walk to the lifts. Harry seemed content with the pace; still glancing around nervously like someone would jump out and tackle him. Though, once she thought about it again, Hermione figured he may have a right to expect that. The three of them really hadn't gone out of their way to show themselves in a public setting. The most Hermione got out was to Diagon Alley to visit the joke shop or purchase a new book. Her last foray into the wizarding world with her best friends had ended in a Witch Weekly cover, and with everything that had happened since then, she was hoping their Ministry visit would go unnoticed.

They reached the lifts and crowded inside, Hermione fitting herself between Harry and Ron's shoulders. Mr. Weasley manoeuvred to stand directly in front of her, partially covering half of both Ron and Harry's faces. She smiled at his back, suddenly glad to know such a wonderful wizard. The lift only stopped at two floors, letting in a meek looking witch, and a bored, half-asleep wizard, before it deposited all six of them on the black, damp floor. Harry had to move out first, dislodging the res t of them from their tight spot in the lift. They once again followed Mr. Weasley to a large door marked 'Courtroom 4' and pushed it open to reveal a half filled courtroom, full of loud murmurs from the already present Wizengamot.

"Don't just stand there, move along. Take a seat on the opposite side, the Wizengamot sits adjacent to witnesses." Mr. Weasley stage whispered, making Hermione wince slightly when his voice bounced around the room, and grabbed some unwanted attention. She pushed on Harry's shoulder, forcing him to move his feet and lead them to the second room of seats. The whispering and conversation had ceased quickly, and picked up just as fast. Only this time, she could distinctly hear their names being bounced around in conversation. Finally, once they'd been seated, Kingsley came lumbering into the room; a small entourage of two Auror's following at his sides. He came marching up to their small party, drawing even more attention than they had upon entering themselves. Once he was right in front of them, the Minister of Magic thrust his wand out and pointed it into Hermione's face.

"What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet never in a thousand years?" He thundered out in his deep voice, startling Ron and Mr. Weasley who had seated themselves on either side of her.

"Kingsley, you know it's her," Mr. Weasley said, perhaps hoping to draw attention away from her.

"No Arthur, Hermione and I have quite an extensive system set up between the two of us. I will know," He didn't stop looking at Hermione, who wasn't breaking eye contact, while running through every answer they'd learned together over in her head. It took her longer than it perhaps should have, but finally she grinned and said, "M,"

"M?" Harry asked, but Kingsley did not move. Hermione nodded; proud of herself for figuring it out.

"The letter 'M', Harry." Kingsley smiled at her, then at the boys and lowered his wand.

"Very good Miss Granger, it's good to see you all here unharmed." Mr. Weasley nodded and brought the conversation to include just he and Kingsley, and the two Aurors to position themselves a ways away from their group, but still within reach. Hermione occupied herself with looking around the large oval courtroom.

It was almost completely filled now, every witch and wizard involved in conversation with their seat mates. The ceiling was filled with a murky looking cloud, and held Hermione's attention for quite a bit before she fully grasped what was filling the space between them and the roof.

"Harry?" She whispered loudly making a grab for his sleeve, making sure he was paying attention to her. He looked over quickly, looking around her for what could have caused her to react, until he followed her gaze up to the Dementors floating around, and making delayed grabbing motions with their skeletal hands.

"Oh, right I forgot about them. They can't get us 'Mione. They're here for insurance with their prisoners." He explained rather calmly, but it didn't relieve her fear of them looming over her. So distracted was she by the floating prison guards, that she missed the arrival of the new Chief Wizard, Vincent Ogden.

"Let's begin please, settle down. Bring in the accused Melcoff," a tough looking wizard nodded from the floor, and waved his wand above the center of the room, raising what looked like a birdcage. As the cage was lifted higher, Hermione realized it essentially _was _a birdcage for people. The three crowded in the small space looked mangy and dirty, none of them making eye contact with a single person in the room. With a gasp, Hermione realized the mangy trio in the cage were the proud family of Malfoy.

Ron slipped his hand into hers, delivering a sharp squeeze, and she knew he understood. The Malfoy's looked awful. Lucius was the lowest of the three, sitting on the ground of their enclosure, hugging his wife's leg and keeping a strong fist full of his son's pant leg. Narcissa looked ashamed, but Hermione couldn't tell if it was of herself or more of her husband. Draco, Hermione thought, looked rather disgusted at his father. His clothes were ratty and most likely from a past prisoner in Azkaban, and they hung off in a drastic fashion from his bony shoulders. His hair hung greasy and long in front of his face, breaking apart to reveal his eyes and long nose. He was glaring at the entire front row of Wizengamot wizards, glancing over each of them, and moving to the next row when he couldn't find whoever he was looking for. Every time he passed to the next row, Draco's entire body seemed to be relaxing in relief. That is, until the Chief Wizard began to speak, and he went stiff all over again.

"Mr's Lucius and Draco Malfoy, Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, you three are found guilty of aiding and abetting You-Know-Who in the past war at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and some cases from the years before. Mr Lucius Malfoy, you are also found guilty of being a known Death eater, confirmed by three witnesses. How do you each plead?" Ogden rumbled out, his voice lowered a pitch or two, like he was trying to act tough. Hermione thought he just sounded a bit like he was trying to swallow a dragon egg.

Lucius didn't say a word, or move a muscle. Hermione worried maybe he had been put into a full body bind. Narcissa was the one to speak up for herself first, pleading guilty. Ogden nodded and made a note on something on his podium. He looked back to Lucius, as the head of his household; he should have spoken first in this scenario.

"He's guilty," Draco burst out, gaining many grumbles and disapproving looks, but Ogden never the less wrote down the plea for Draco's father. "As am I. Guilty, that is. But with exceptions."

Ogden outright laughed at Draco's plea, but wrote it down anyway. Draco didn't crack, continuing to watch him shuffle through his paperwork, and basically draw out the silence as long as he could, "What are you exceptions, Draco?" Hermione cringed to herself, silently thinking Ogden was treating him a bit like a child who'd stuck his hand in the cookie jar. Draco Malfoy stood straighter still, his chest puffing out in the same arrogant fashion he had adopted throughout their years in Hogwarts. Again, Hermione regarded him as a small child, acting tough and over mature to prove a point for himself.

"I am guilty of the things I've been accused of, however my actions were influenced by a third party," His words were well practised and sharp, his eyes not moving away from Ogden until he looked at his father in contempt at 'third party'. Ogden dutifully made a note of this, Draco causing many different forms of curious chatter throughout the crowd.

"Bring in the first witness, we haven't got all day now," Ogden gestured to the same man who had raised the Malfoy's from the floor, Melcoff, and had him come closer to where the three of them were sitting with Mr. Weasley and Kingsley were sitting.

"Mr. Weasley?" Melcoff raised his hand in invitation, gesturing for Ron to move forward to the empty chair meant to hold witnesses. Ron gave Hermione's hand a quick squeeze and slipped their fingers apart. Once he was seated Hermione finally looked away from her friend to watch Ogden and Draco. Ogden looked as if he could care less, but Draco had shifted from cool and collected to a frazzled mess once again.

"You are Mr. Ronald Billius Weasley, of The Burrow on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole?" Ron assented that he was and began his questioning on the Malfoy's. Hermione tried to memorize everything Ogden asked Ron about, but after the fifteenth question, she began to drift and lost focus. Most of what she caught surprised her. Ron seemed quite forgiving towards their old schoolmate.

"Final question, Mr. Weasley. Do you agree with the accused pleas of guilty?" Ron paused now, taking a few more minutes to answer than the past questions.

"I believe Mr. Malfoy to be completely guilty, no doubt. Mrs. Malfoy was, er, persuaded I think, to continue with her husband's choices. And Draco," now he almost stopped, and tried not to turn and look back and Hermione and Harry, "I think he did what he had to, to help his family." No one made any comment of Ron's answers, and he was sent back to his seat next to Hermione.

"Miss Granger, if you would please allow me?" Melcoff asked of her, leaving his hand outstretched to give her a hand. She thought of taking it, but waved it off, lowering herself from the tall steps, manoeuvring in her skirt as well as she could. Melcoff retracted his proffered hand, but followed her to the seat. Once she was situated, she looked up, trying to ignore the small burning happening across her cheeks. Vincent Ogden was staring down at her in mild interest, but she kept her head up and didn't look over at the cage to her left.

"You are Miss Hermione Jean Granger, of the Burrow on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole?"

"Yes," she answered tersely, not coming off as sweet as she had wanted. Ogden noted this once again on his podium.

"We will be taking a different point of view with your question, Miss Granger. Please describe to us, your first conversation with Draco Malfoy in your second year of Hogwarts." Hermione didn't know what to say. She sat back and had to think back to that year, what conversation they could possibly want to hear about.

"Oh, this is unfair," she blurted out, causing Melcoff to chuckle as the secretary, Pennilynn, startled from her quill and paper. If she had looked over, she would have noticed a dry smile crack Draco's lips.

Ogden didn't seem to appreciate her candor, "Miss Granger, answer the question." Hermione sighed drastically, perhaps being a bit too liberal.

"I do believe you're addressing the conversation during a Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch practise. If so, then I can say Draco called me a mudblood. Which, I am," Melcoff chuckled behind her, but she stopped herself from glaring at him.

"That is correct Miss Granger, was this the only time Draco and the rest of the Malfoy family used this term towards you?"

"No,"

"Would you please describe the events that transpired at Malfoy Manor, in May of 1998?"

Hermione could almost feel the tension radiating from Harry and Ron, as she sucked in a shocked breath. This was unfair.

"Could you build on that, please?" She asked meekly, chastising herself for sounding weak in this moment. Ogden didn't exactly glare at her, but he wasn't hiding his disapproval.

"It's been recorded that the skirmish at Malfoy Manor involving the 'Golden Trio', also included Bellatrix Lestrange; would you please grow on this event and what transpired between you and Ms. Lestrange?" Hermione felt completely frozen now, and couldn't seem to move her mouth. It had already been a year since their search for horcruxes. "Miss Granger?"

"Yes, I just," a sharp breath ripped through her lungs, shocking her back into reality, "okay," She took another deep breath and began her tale. "We were brought to Malfoy Manor by Snatchers because they noticed Harry's scar. Once we arrived, Draco was brought in to identify Harry through the Stinging Jinx I'd cast on him, in hopes of hiding him. For the record, Draco denied being able to spot Harry's face through the jinx. It was here Bellatrix discovered one of the Snatchers had pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of my bag. She cursed them all, and kept the sword with her as she then questioned me on how we came to have the sword,

"Harry and Ron were thrown in the dungeon downstairs, and I was kept by Bellatrix where she continued to use the Cruciatus Curse to try and gain information. She believed she had the sword illegally stashed in her vault to keep it safe for You-Know-Who, while she in fact had a duplicate. I was Crucioed, beaten and scarred. I blacked out soon after a friend of ours, a house elf mind you, helped us escape." Hermione stopped and looked back up to Ogden, realizing she had been staring at the floor boards while recounting her story. She ignored the Chief Wizard and looked around the seats next to him, and couldn't help the grin from forming on her face when she noted most of the witches were crying for her. Oh, when Fred heard about this.

"You may be seated Miss Granger," Ogden cleared his throat; she nodded and stood up once more without Melcoff's help. She couldn't tamper down the annoying proud feeling she felt in her chest, as Harry began his questioning. Most of the Wizengamot had sobered and peppered themselves up, watching Harry in complete interest as he sat down and stayed silent in his chair.

"You are Mr. Harry James Potter of Grimmauld Place, Number Undisclosed, as well as the Burrow, on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole?" Ogden asked once again, and Harry agreed that he was. "Mr. Potter, please describe aloud your previous assessment of the Malfoy's."

Harry nodded, and scooted himself further up on the chairs seat, "Everyone who's met us knows Draco and I don't see eye to eye, and never will. But in the last year, Draco and I've come to a silent understanding." Ogden looked severely confused, and leaned over his podium like he was trying to intimidate Harry.

"Mr. Potter, do explain please," Harry went on to explain how Draco had been helping them; though by Ron's indignant scoff, Hermione figured the idea sounded more farfetched than Harry thought it was. He told everyone about their snatching, and being dumped in front of Draco to be identified, and being thrown into the dungeon after Draco refused to say who he was. Harry tried to think of another quick example but couldn't seem to think of anything fast enough. Ogden was beginning to look more unimpressed by the minute.

"Oh! In the Forbidden Forest, when I was facing Voldemort!" The entire room seemed to twitch at the name, but Harry went on, "once he sent the Killing Curse at me, and I-er-let's say I 'woke up', he sent Narcissa over to check if I had died. Now, by then, I was breathing properly, and was trying not to open my eyes and see what was happening. Narcissa reached my side, and knelt down to lean over my body. I was terrified; this woman was holding a wand and could have killed me again, and I wouldn't have woken up this time. But she had leaned over to cover me, allowing her to whisper a question in my ear, and giving me a chance to answer without anyone else noticing,

"'Draco,' she had said. When I didn't answer, she asked again, asking if her son was alive. I nodded, and she turned and lied straight to the Dark Lord's face, and said I was dead. Now, I know this may not be ground breaking, or any reason to excuse what this family has done. But, the only reason I'm still alive is because people helped me, and they were some of the biggest aids." Harry finished his speech, and stopped talking all together. Hermione couldn't believe it; she kept her mouth shut and waited for everyone to digest what had been said. Eventually, Kingsley had stood up and announced in his loud, booming voice, that the Wizengamot should reconvene to address both Narcissa and Draco's sentence, while it was clear Lucius was being sent back. Ogden nodded his agreement, and snapped Lucius Malfoy's wand unceremoniously.

Hermione watched the small broken family be separated from cage, Lucius staying inside, and the other two being taken out and shackled together. Lucius looked like he was crying, reaching out for his wife, who only turned to her son and pet back his long hair. Hermione couldn't watch any more, and stood to leave silently; hoping Harry and Ron wouldn't take too much longer.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The door to Weasley Wizard Wheezes was jam packed with kids varying in age, the oldest being only a few years younger than she. Hermione decided to wait until the initial rush had either made their way into the store or had been dragged away by their parents.

"Do you two mind if we pop in?" Ron grinned at her and nudged her side with his elbow.

"Need a quick snog there, Granger?" Harry chuckled at the both of them and shoved a blushing Hermione closer to the shop.

"It's fine Hermione, we'll head back to the Burrow. You won't leave on your own right? Please wait for Fred," Hermione gave Harry a quick peck on the cheek and a wave to Ron before both boys went on their way opposite the joke store, while Hermione made her way towards the once more busy, bright orange threshold. Before she could reach for the door handle, another older wizard, with an old fashioned camera the wizarding world tended to use around his neck, swung it open for her with a quick smile, allowing her to enter first. She smiled kindly and went in, immediately zeroing in on the cash register where the twins' single employee, Verity, was working her pants off, but managed to keep a relatively sunny smile on her face. Once she spotted Hermione, she gave her an extra large smile and gestured for her to come closer.

"Well well, if it isn't the future Mrs. Weasley-number-four! Or would it be five, I honestly don't know which one is technically older?" Hermione laughed at the witch, glad the two of them got along so well. Honestly, with the amount of time she would be here, it was good not to have a bad relationship with her. Being on the bad side of someone who worked in a joke shop didn't seem like a smart choice. She took a seat off to the side of the counter, allowing Verity to continue to check out her current customer and sent them on their way.

"Number four; I've overheard this argument before so I asked their mother." Verity nodded sagely, like Hermione was the smartest woman she had ever met, which only set the bushy haired witch off on another round of laughter. The next customer was a young boy with a pile of Skeeving Snackboxes piled up in his arms. He struggled for a minute to place them all carefully on the counter and then reached over to grab a Canary Cream and placed it on top of the pile. Verity was holding back her giggles behind her hand as she watched the boy place his purchase so carefully before her. Hermione on the other hand was already reaching forward to hold them if they suddenly decided to collapse.

The young boy grinned up at her when she had to snatch one out of the air as it finally jumped from its treacherous position, "Fanks, miss." Hermione's chest constricted at the boy's obvious lisp. He couldn't have been older than six, and probably shouldn't have been buying these pranks on his own. Verity finished up with the money he had passed to her, and was trying to fit them all into a bag.

"What have we here? Two beautiful young women without a companion? 'Tis a tough decision, but I will take one for the team," George announced loudly from behind Hermione's chair, landing a large, wet kiss on her cheek. The little boy gave them a grossed out face and left with another 'fanks' thrown at Verity. The young witch gave her boss a weird face but turned to the next customer in line without comment. Hermione in turn looked over at George, fighting the grin trying to flit across her face.

"Hullo George," he grinned and said 'hi' back, popping up to sit on the counter behind the two girls. Verity looked back at them, once more with a strange quirk to her brow,

"Merlin you're not even Fred? Oh, this relationship is _so _weird." She turned back and told herself to ignore it. George grinned at his employee and turned his attention to Hermione once again.

"My less-attractive-than-me twin is in the back, finishing up the first test of our new product as punishment."

Hermione felt like she shouldn't ask, but she still asked, "Punishment for what?" George only grinned and chucked her under the chin.

"Never you mind dear future twinster-in-law." She gave him another strange look, but ignored it this time. She watched Verity check out a few more customers, and glanced around the store hoping to find a distraction until Fred came out. Hermione spent the next ten minutes watching the young witches and wizards play with the prank filled shelves. She thought she saw a bright flash on her left, but George was blocking her view of what it could have been, and eventually gave up on amusing herself.

"Is it okay if I go see Fred? Or is this test not safe?" George waved her away, hopping down and going to a couple of young girls, trying to catch themselves a Pygmy Puff. Hermione got down off her chair and made her way slowly through the crowd. Eventually she made it to the back room, where the large magenta door held a large sign that boldly read, 'Weasley's Only' with the smaller print underneath that said 'Potter's Too'. She grinned and pushed the door open, feeling the light shield pass over her as she entered the room.

"Fred?" A loud explosion answered her and she rushed to the very back, where she saw a vibrant green slime crawling up the walls, and a completely covered Weasley twin standing in the middle of it. He was looking right at her and they stared at one another for a minute before he broke out in laughter. She watched the green slime continue to crawl up the wall and reach the ceiling, where it continued to swing itself to the chandelier.

"If that wasn't a good representation of our future, love, I dare you to find a better one." Fred continued to belly laugh as Hermione raised her wand arm with a sigh, and began to try and wrangle to green ceiling monster.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Ugh. I'm sorry this is so bad. And so late. This is a terrible ending, but I couldn't go on much longer without it dragging. I need to start anew! NEW CHAPTER ON THE WAY! Promise **

**AJ**


	12. Don't Piss Off a Weasley

**Had a few more followers after that last one, so that must mean I'm still doing something right.**

*****Warning: I'm beginning to use a bit of fouler language. Ye have been warned.**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

It took Hermione and Fred over an hour to destroy the green slime he had mistakenly created, and they didn't walk away unscathed. Hermione was sure Fred would have green slime in his ears for a week, and her hair still felt decidedly gooey after three separate cleaning charms. Instead of going back to the Burrow and facing questions from the family, Fred took Hermione upstairs to he and George's flat so they could shower and rid themselves of the creepy goo.

The door opened with a loud creaking, which Hermione figured the boys had ignored fixing because they enjoyed the sound too much to bother. She followed him inside, taking her time to look around at the previous bachelor pad. It didn't strike her as 'homey' but it was most definitely 'Weasley Twins'. The walls were four different shades of purple, one decidedly magenta with waves of puce, making for a vomit worthy combination. But the deep olive green, over-stuffed couch in front of it threw the colours into a better perspective, complimenting each other quite well. The rest of the room was in the like; a mahogany red wall with two different tones shelves, holding different tomes of spells and jokes; one wall pushing on pink, with an open doorway leading to a kitchen; and a burnt orange wallpaper with two doors and a small hallway on the right. The center of the room had a large throw rug in purple and cream swirls and two wonderfully orange armchairs facing the green couch, and aimed opposite the kitchen doorway. Hermione decided it was perfect.

"Home sweet home, yeah? George and I apparently don't agree on as much as everyone thinks; I did _not_ want the pink wall." Hermione giggled at him and took one more look around at the weirdly harmonious room.

"I think it works actually. Very chic," Fred gave her a strange look at the muggle terminology, but took her hand again without comment and brought her over to the orange-ish wall, where the unknown door where, and opened the one in between the other and the small hall. Once it was opened to her, Hermione discovered this was the washroom, complete with a surprisingly large bathtub, walk in shower, and full vanity sink. It was luxurious for a shop flat.

"Washroom is here; take a shower first while I make us tea. If you want a bath, I must warn you that George may or may not have used it to house a randy pack of Pygmy Puffs. Call if you need anything, love." He turned and gave her a very chaste kiss on her temple, trying to avoid the slime surrounding her hair.

"Thanks Fred," she said just before he shut the door, leaving her in peace to wash up. She decided against the bath, and played it safe with the shower. She stood in the warm water, letting it relieve most of the mess in her curls before she decided to attack it with soap. The twins' shower was filled with different odds and ends, and amusingly, were each labelled with different threats to one another from the both of them. It took her a moment to decide but eventually went with the 'use this one and you'll permanently become the less attractive twin' or the less appealing 'It'll give you warts, I swear it'. Squeezing a large dollop in her hand, the shampoo came out an awful maroon, and Hermione put it into her hair before she could over think the colour. She rubbed it through every strand on her head; filling the shower with mint infused steam and making her feel better immediately. It took another few minutes of moving back and forth under the hot spray before Hermione could talk herself out of getting out of the shower.

Dressed and fresh faced, Hermione left the steam filled room with wet hair and a smile, and walked in to see slime covered Fred, nursing a cup of tea while trying to pick slime out of his short red hair.

"Showers open now," Hermione said aloud, catching the laugh before it escaped as she watched him hide his hand like she had caught him picking his nose.

"Thanks, your tea's in the kitchen. I'll only be a minute," he passed her quickly, though she evaded his hand that had reached out to graze her arm as he passed by. He gave her a saucy wink, which she thought of returning but chose instead the hot tea waiting for her. The kitchen was more relaxed than the rest of the flat, a soft warm yellow with black counters and mostly red appliances. She rather fell in love with the ruby red gas stove, but forced herself to the four stools surrounding the island cupboard, which seemed to act as their dining table. There was in fact a steaming cuppa, which she snatched gratefully and took a bit sip, relaxing into the hard stool. Fred came out only ten minutes later, rubbing a small towel through his hair in an effort to dry it some. Hermione smirked and waved her wand at him in two quick successions, mumbling 'Inaquosa' under her breath and watched a small wind sweep up the water from his head. He gave her a grin and sat down on the stool across from her.

"Good?" he nodded to the mug in her hand, and she nodded back, glad for the warmth, "so, how did the trial go?"

"Fine; Lucius is officially stuck in Azkaban while Draco and his mother are going to be reassessed by the Wizengamot at a later date." Fred wrinkled his nose up in distaste but decided against saying anything; he hadn't been there.

"Does this mean you're free for the rest of the day?" Fred asked her suddenly, pepping up like a kitten.

Hermione smiled kindly, patting his hand as she took another sip, "Technically, I'm always free. You're the one with a real job and things to do." Fred smiled and preened a bit, actually puffing out his chest.

"I'm so grown-up," Hermione snorted into her mug, watching him deflate and pout.

"Says the man with pink walls,"

"Oi! I picked magenta! Not pink!"

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The next morning at the Burrow was much less tense than the day before, the stress from the Malfoy trial behind everyone. Harry actually ate his entire plate Mrs. Weasley had set out for him, and even grabbed seconds of the eggs. Hermione only pushed most of her food around, nibbling on her pieces of toast in substitute. Ron had never had a problem with food, especially his mothers. Ginny was the only other Weasley home, besides her mum and dad; everyone else was at work. Or in Charlie's case, had an 'appointment' of sorts this morning that he had run out of the house for. Mrs. Weasley had been mumbling about it for the past hour, trying to figure out what it could have been for.

Ginny had received her Witch Weekly from Pig this morning, which had recently, and enthusiastically, taken over post delivery from Errol. The Weasley girl hadn't said much this morning besides giving her mum and Harry a kiss on the cheek and a hello to Hermione and Ron. She had taken her seat and read for the whole morning, giving Hermione small tidbits of information if she deemed it important to share. As Hermione decided she could have another piece of toast without upsetting her stomach, Ginny gave a rather girlish shriek, clapping her hand to her mouth.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked the younger girl, shaking her shoulder to gain her attention. Ginny looked at her friend and didn't say anything, giving her a grimace instead.

"You've got another column in here 'Mione." Hermione groaned and reached for the magazine to see it herself.

"It's not another one of me and Ron is it?" Ginny didn't exactly shake her head.

"Not entirely." Hermione saw what she meant immediately, seeing the three separate pictures her spread had covered on a full page of the magazine. The column was affectionately named, 'Granger Gab' with her face in every photo. The first was of her and Ron sitting in the Malfoy trial, catching the moment Ron reached over and grabbed her hand in his, and their shared smile. She skipped over the small article to look at the other pictures, both shockingly in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Oh Merlin, this is bad." The photo after Ron's was her and George sitting up on the counter, George grinning at her and chucking her chin, though the unfortunate angle just made it look like he was holding her. She groaned and looked at the last, already knowing how this one would look, though in retrospect she figured this picture wouldn't cause as much of a buzz as the others. Fred had her hand in his, both dripping in green slime as they went up the stairs to the twins flat, but Fred kept grinning at her over and over as the photo reset itself to show their grins at the door closing shut behind her.

"You little tramp," Ginny giggles at her friend, watching as Hermione looked over the pictures and skimmed the articles. She shot the younger girl a glare, but stuck her nose back into the post a second later, gorging on the stupid article.

"How do I get rid of them?" Hermione finally asked the group, resorting to asking their opinions. Ron only shrugged, helpful as always; Ginny tapped her head a bit, like she was thinking as hard as possible; and Harry grinned and pointed at the articles author, a Rudker Tollins.

"Get an interview with your number one fan,"

"What? I don't want to talk to them! I want them to leave me alone! They're bothering me more than either of you two." Hermione pointed accusingly at Harry and Ron, accidently poking Ron right in the ear, but ignored him and instead tried to hide her grin.

Harry got up from the table, taking his and Ginny's mugs to wash up. He and Hermione had been told multiple times to leave it, as the table usually cleared it's self, but their Muggle upbringing had drilled the motion into them.

"Mione, if you talk to him and give him a few details about you and Fred, I swear they'll stop bothering you so much. They just want to know who you've been paired with." Hermione huffed but promised to consider the idea, leaving the four friends to pick up a happier line of conversation. Hours passed, and the group found themselves moving outside into the sun. Ginny procured them all a large quilt to lay across in the field, while Hermione set to making a light picnic for them. Harry and Ron left the girls to their missions, going off instead to throw a quaffle around until they were called in. Molly was sent off to the patio to enjoy some sun herself, leaving the girls alone in the spacious kitchen.

It didn't take Ginny long before she sidled up to Hermione, her sly smile giving her away, "So how was your visit with my brother?"

Hermione snorted, "Which one? Apparently I've got a few to pick over." Ginny rolled her eyes, and nudged her bony shoulder against Hermione.

"I mean your little rendezvous with a certain twin. Hope you didn't get into too much trouble Miss Granger," Ginny winked, enjoying the blush moving across the other girls cheeks.

"We had to shower, Gin. That slime was horrid." Ginny gave her the eye, and Hermione immediately altered her statement, "Separately Ginny! Merlin, you're as bad as George." Ginny only laughed, and the girls continued on in small bouts of silence and laughter. Eventually, Ginny got bored of the small talk and entered Fred territory once more.

"Honestly Hermione, and tell me the truth," Ginny leaned in; whispering now, "is it good?"

Hermione wrinkled her nose at her friend, unsure of what she meant, "Is what good, sorry?" Ginny rolled her eyes and faux whispered,

"The shagging 'Mione. Is it actually good? Because I'd always wondered if Fred and George were always bragging to compensate for their utter lack of being a good shag. 'Cause as their sister, I can't really ask the other girls, but you're my best friend, so I think it's alright to ask, right?" Hermione was staring at her, causing Ginny to break out in a peel of laughter.

"Oh the look on your face! Honestly Hermione, I grew up with six brothers, you should be used to me."

Hermione delivered a smack to Ginny's side, aware the girl was teasing her, "There is no shagging, Ginerva Weasley. I just got used to snogging him," Ginny didn't seem as disappointed as Hermione had expected, instead, she squealed rather girlishly and stopped pretending to make sandwiches all together. She faced Hermione and pushed for more information immediately.

"When did this happen? And how am I only hearing of this now?" Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend, and finished off the abandoned sandwiches, packing them up into the small basket she'd transfigured from an old bowl.

"A couple days ago. Actually, the night before you found that first Witch Weekly article about me." Ginny was grinning so hard her cheeks were beginning to turn white with the pressure.

"And?"

"And what? We snogged, and went to bed. Then we came over for breakfast and ran into you."

Ginny looked ready to burst, "You went to _bed?_ Together right? Please tell me he didn't sleep on the couch 'Mione!" Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the happy smile she had now on her face, matching Ginny's saucy grin.

"Definitely not," Ginny cackled, but Hermione shushed her, "but nothing else happened Gin, we really did go to sleep." Ginny waved her off, but accepted that she wouldn't be getting any more information, and stood to help Hermione gather the jug of lemonade, following her outside to where the boys were just landing.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The calming day at the Burrow was not reflected at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The twins hadn't seen each other most of the day, constantly being dragged between customers and Lee and Verity. Fred couldn't see why it was so incredibly busy on today of all days, but he went with it, no matter how exhausted he really was. His short visit with Hermione earlier had set him in a good mood, and it showed as he jubilantly helped the young witches and wizards who were browsing through their store. But he was also so tired, he was ready to drop and leave his share of the store to George to handle. But that was unfair, and George would end up hating him for the week.

"Mr. Weasley!"Verity's voice rose over the din of customers, waving at him from behind the cash counter. He pointed at himself stupidly, ensuring he was the correct Mister Weasley, to which Verity gestured to him impatiently. Grinning at already making his employee frustrated, Fred skipped over with expressive enthusiasm, making a few young witches in line giggle at him.

"Hullo my beautiful, smart, and wonderfully capable employee. How may I be of service to you, lovely?" Verity only rolled her, used to his and George's strange behaviour by now.

"There's a gentleman over there that's being not so gentlemanly. He keeps asking to speak with you and then causes a ruckus with the Flying Fangs." Fred looked over to where Verity was pointing, seeing there was in fact an older man standing by the Flying Fangs display, poking his finger into the cage and startling the creatures inside enough to have them try and attack. His too large pasty robes would billow out and knock over the smaller cages used to handle the Fangs, which caused another pile of the product beside them to topple over as well. Fred nodded to the younger girl, and headed over to the man, draping his arm casually across the cage, effectively blocking anymore chance of the man poking the creatures.

"Can't read the sign mate? The bites on these things sting a while." Fred managed to startle the man so hard he yelped and pulled his whole arm away.

"Er, yes, sorry. Didn't mean to, well," the flustered man stopped and seemed to shake himself off, "Rudker Tollins," he suck his hand out for Fred to shake, and grinned like he was bestowing upon him the greatest honour.

"Sure, nice to meet you. Verity said you wanted to speak with me?" Fred asked politely, though his patience with the man was already thin, his good mood deteriorating. Tollins looked mildly put out, but jumped ahead like he was desperate to keep Fred's attention.

"Yes Mr. Weasley, I actually work with Witch Weekly," he paused, like he was giving Fred he chance to congratulate him. Fred instead waved his wand out with a flourish, righting the toppled displays. "I'm the author of the newest column, Granger Gab?" This caught Fred's attention. He looked over his shoulder at the balding man, who was grinning once more like he'd found the last living dragon. He looked over the reporter, taking in the oversized robes, shabby boots and not-so-discrete camera hanging off his shoulder.

"You'd be the one stalking Hermione, then?" Fred straightened up, sizing this man up. Tollins was grinning like a fool, missing the death glare being shot his way.

"Not the word I would use, but following her story, yes, that's me!" Tollins grinned at Fred, both staring at each other for completely different reasons. Fred couldn't understand how this man was so incredibly dense, while Tollins continued to wait for praise from the red-headed man.

"All right, what did you need me for?" Becoming agitated and quite angry with the reporter, Fred moved them away from the front of the store and to the back, hoping to get away from prying eyes. Tollins followed happily, practically skipping at the fact he was getting an interview.

"Well, I've been unfortunately denied any interviews with Miss Granger, and have decided it would be fortuitous to seek answers from a few of the men in her life. You know, get an inside scoop!" Tollins was too happy to notice Fred freeze up and glare so hard at the man, his ears were turning red.

"What do you mean, 'a few of the men'? In case you forgot, we've been shoved into another Marriage Law, you dolt. Hermione _has_ to marry her chosen wizard. It's literally the law." Tollins seemed to have finally picked up on Fred's ire.

"Well, that's just it, isn't it? The Golden Trio haven't come out and said who they've been paired with. The world wants to know about their Saviours; it's my job to tell them."

Fred was getting pissed with the ignorant man now, "No, you're job is push yourself into other people's lives. And I'm telling you; Butt out." Tollins tried to glare, and push his face up to the Weasley, but Fred had an obvious five inches on the portly man, and Tollins eventually gave up, huffing instead. Fred watched him pat his pocket quickly, like he was reassuring himself he hadn't lost anything.

"Why are you defending Miss Granger? Could it be you've been scorned as her lover now that she's been paired for the Law? Our viewers are well aware you've dallied with her over the last year." Fred was seething, whipping his wand out blindly and sending a stunning jinx to the man's left pocket, a burst of static going off and a small roll of parchment flying into Fred's hand. He took a look at it, and noticed it was a miniaturized version of a Quick Quotes Quill, shrunken to hide in Tollins pocket to record their conversation. Fred could feel the heat from his face now, well aware how red he must be.

"First off, how dare you come into my shop, and disturb my customers, just to piss me off and accuse me of something this petty. Second, I am extremely angry with you, but I think this thing is rather brilliant," he flashed the tiny quill at him before pocketing it, though Tollins tried in vain to snatch it back, "Thirdly, and I don't care if that's actually a word or not; you are to leave Harry, Ron and Hermione alone unless they express interest in speaking with your ruddy paper. We just got out of a war, leave 'em be for Merlin's sake!"

Tollins was gaping like a fish, rather scandalized Fred had found his hidden notes, "Lastly, and you had better be listening to this one Tollins, as I'm unlikely to repeat it for you. Hermione Granger is _my _fiancée. Mine, not Harry's, not Ron's, not my bloody twin's. So stop getting in her face, stop making up stories, and leave my future wife alone." Fred poked Tollins once in his chest, shoving the now broken Quick Quotes Quill into his hands, and stuffed the still tiny parchment into his purple work coat, stomping off into his store. He managed to reach his and George's office door before his brother managed to stop him, trying to find out what happened. Fred just shrugged him off waving behind him in the general direction he'd left Tollins, muttering something about a ruddy prick. Once the door had been shut, George spun around; a frown on his face as he found Tollins coming out from behind the shelving, a pouty sad look on his face, as he pet what looked like a bird feather to George. Without questioning it, George grabbed the reporters elbow and escorted him out of the shop, leaving him with a 'Prat' before slamming the door in his face. Tollins stared in wonder at the shop door, before scurrying away to find a quill before he forgot any of the conversation he'd just had.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The group at the Burrow was exhausted. They had finished the picnic the girls had set out for them over an hour ago, and had adjourned to the pond after to enjoy the cool water in the growing heat. Ron and Harry were lounging just out of the water, the small waves lapping up to their knees as they lay in the grass. Ginny had laid out a blanket for her and Hermione, with which she had been sunbathing on after a few minutes in the water. Hermione couldn't figure out how the girl kept herself from burning. Hermione had laid out beside Ginny for half an hour before sitting up to grab her book, and had been reading it since. The sun made them all warm and lazy, barely speaking between them anymore.

"Did you hear that?" Ron asked them all quite suddenly, popping his head up to listen to something. Hermione raised her eyes from her book, but otherwise didn't bother. Ginny mumbled something about garden tomatoes, and Harry half heartedly listened with his mate before shrugging and flopping his head back into the grass, kicking his feet out to make a splash.

The next moment was filled with green and blue sparklers firing around them all, making a humongous amount of noise. Ginny rolled off the blanket into the pond with a yelp; Hermione threw her book up and just managed to save it from the water. Both boys had tried to stand and grab their wands, but slipped in the mud between the grass and the water, ending up with their faces full of dirt and pond water. Laughter filled the small bushel of trees just behind the group, and a stocky red-head stood up clutching at his sides.

"Charles Weasley! When I get out of here, you best get ready for the hex of your life!" Ginny screeched at her older brother, who didn't seem like he was trembling in fear of his baby sister. Charlie Weasley was one of the brothers Hermione had little to no contact with, having met him twice; the most recent being after the war. Once the Marriage Law had been announced, Hermione had noticed Charlie went AWOL for a bit, but didn't have the heart to ask Molly about it. She watched as he came closer to their group, seating himself a space away from her, effectively blocking himself from Ginny. He was built much like the twins were, shorter than Ron or Bill, but broad shouldered, and still too tall. His job of wrestling with dragons also gave him an incredibly intimidated figure, burly the first word coming to Hermione to describe him. His arms held more scars than freckles these days, and his face looked like it had been healed from burns more than once. But his grin was happy and friendly, as warm as the rest of his family, and was quite honestly a giant teddy bear.

"Oh Merlin, the looks on your faces! I wish Bill had seen that Gin-Gin, he'd be rolling around by now." Ginny glared at her older brother, but seemed to quickly forgive him when she sat herself right in his lap for a hug and snuggle.

"Where'd you disappear to Charlie? Dad was actually looking quite angry last I saw you." Harry and Ron had by now picked themselves up and joined them on the blanket. Harry was cleaning off his glasses, while Ron was only glaring at Charlie, slowly wiping his face off. Charlie looked guilty, hiding it behind a grin for his sister, but Hermione saw it.

"I may have blown up a bit after the Law was passed. Stormed my way into the Ministry I did, caused a bit of noise and set dad off a bit. But I got what I went for. Had to go let work know I would have to stay home for a year or so, grabbed a couple things and here I am."

Hermione was curious, and set her book down, "What did you ask at the Ministry?"

Charlie sighed, nuzzling his nose in Ginny's hair and he mumbled dejectedly, "If I was included in the Law. I was hoping because I hadn't lived here in a few years that I wouldn't apply. Apparently, it's for anyone born in the United Kingdom. So I received my name there," Ginny smiled at her brother, and asked her name. Charlie's face morphed into a sappy grin, making Harry chuckle at the tough man.

"Her name's Tessa Jones, she went to Hogwarts the year after me apparently. She's originally from Scotland so she does have a wicked accent, but it's quite cute actually," Ginny cooed at her brother, receiving a light smack to her hair, mussing the ginger strands.

"So you've already met her then?" Hermione asked, keeping the conversation on track.

"Yeah, well everyone should have met their partners by now; it's past the date from the Ministry to set up a visit." Harry and Hermione looked at one another at the same time, and glared at Ron together.

"You didn't tell us you spoke with Romilda already!" Hermione chastised her friend, while Harry basically pouted at Ron.

Ron sighed and rolled his eyes at both of them, "Yes, we met up for coffee in Muggle London. She still hasn't really been back in Diagon Alley, or Hogsmeade or anything since the war. And we didn't talk for more than an hour."

"Why?" Hermione and Harry both yelled. Ron got red faced, and flopped down onto the blanket with a groan, looking into the sky to avoid them.

"'Cause I hate this whole bloody law! Everyone seems to be okay with this, getting married when we're not even twenty yet! And it's okay with your matches, they're people you already knew! I thought I had Charlie on my side, but nope, he's already gaga over Tessa." Hermione watched her friend run his hand over his face and into his hair in frustration. "I'd only ever spoken to Romilda once through Hogwarts, and it was her asking after Harry. I don't know this girl; I don't want to marry her, but I have to, or she could be thrown into Azkaban with me."

"Oh Ronald," Ginny sighed and reached over, pulling him up to give him a hug. Hermione leaned in next, squeezing the remaining section of his torso. Harry reached over and wrapped his arm around Ron's shoulders, and kept it there. Charlie smiled at the four, waiting until they were finished.

Hermione was the first to lean away, causing Ginny and Harry to do the same, "I promise you're not alone in this. Do you honestly think I would have even noticed Fred was a good match for me if it wasn't for this stupid law? Besides Ginny and Harry, I haven't seen many matches that would have happened without the Ministry interfering. But they did it this way, and I've figured it must mean they matched us this way to ensure a magical child. We can't get around it Ron; but you still have us, and I know Romilda is a lovely person, you won't be miserable. Just remember we still love you, yeah?"

Hermione ignored Ron's wet eyes and leaned into her friends again, suddenly feeling wiped out. They stayed in silence until Charlie eventually interrupted, "So, did anyone want to meet Tess?"

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Hmmm.**

**I like it :]**


	13. Love Be Blind and Bright

**I'm sorry these updates have been so slow; I've been planning a summer camp for the last few months. It went well though, and we managed to find 114 deer ticks with 28 of us there. I still feel gross and crawly a week later. **

**And I fixed the weird mix up in chapter 9, so it's legible now. Sorry for the confusion.**

**This chapter takes place April 25, 1999 (as in, one week before Fleur pops)**

**And, sorry, I haven't done one of these in a while: Disclaimer… I'm Canadian (hence the multiple times I apologize, and I actually don't realize I'm doing it usually. Though I did it on purpose for you this time) and not British. Ergo, I couldn't own this.**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

"Hermione, come on! I'm famished; I'm practically dying from starvation!" Ginny moaned and groaned from her friend's side of the room, draped dramatically over the bedspread and Hermione's legs. Simply smiling at the younger girl, Hermione calmly flipped her page over, reading the second last page carefully. She had told Ginny she was determined to finish this book before dinner with everyone, and only had the last page to go. But with the incessant whining, the last page had turned into a ten minute debacle.

"We're not eating for another fifteen minutes at least, Gin. Your dad, Bill and the twins won't be off work until then." Ginny only sighed loudly, but knew Hermione was right. She finished her page up quickly, closing the book lightly and placing it back in its spot under her night table. Pushing Ginny off her lap, she followed at a slower pace than the skipping trot Ginny had taken. Molly was already putting out the table settings, only just allowing Hermione to snatch them away to do it for her. The matriarchal Weasley had been cooking since the early hours of the morning, shocking Hermione and Ginny when they had woken to the smells of a roasting ham. 'They're actually bringing them home tonight girls, I need to make it extra good.' was all they had gotten for the first two hours, until Ginny eventually flooed her father at the Ministry to ask if her mother had gone nutty.

Arthur had assured his daughter that Molly was not, in fact, nuts. She had been told by Charlie, Percy and Ron that they were going to be bringing their intended to dinner this Sunday. Molly had been ecstatic. She had immediately flooed George and Bill to invite Angelina and Fleur over o make a family dinner out of the night. She didn't stop to rest until she had Ginny promise she would watch the potatoes so she could run to the loo.

"Hermione, dear, could you straighten that last place setting?" Molly gestured over her shoulder, not even looking to see if Hermione finished the task before immersing herself in perfecting the chocolate cake she's concocted for dessert. After doing as she was told, Hermione decided to take her seat early, and just wait for everyone to come in, or take over a job for Mrs. Weasley; whichever came first. Ginny disappeared into the living room, aware she wouldn't be getting any food as of yet. The floo popped then, depositing Charlie in the living room across from his sister. Hermione craned around the doorway, grinning back at the older Weasley.

"Hey Charlie, is Tessa on her way?" He grinned back at her, nodding an affirmative as he grabbed Ginny up in a small tussle to say his hellos. The floo activated once more, catching Ginny with a small face full of soot, which had Charlie falling apart with giggles.

"Merlin, sorry Ginny," Tessa Jones said only slightly apologetically to her soon to be sister-in-law, mostly because she was laughing at Charlie for giggling. She shook out her curly blonde hair, ridding it of any soot or floo dust before stepping into Molly's immaculate living room. Hermione and Ginny had met Tessa a few hours ago, but she had left to 'clean up' from work. She worked at the Ministry, for the Care of Magical Creatures department; Hermione didn't think she looked half bad, but Tessa insisted she smelt distinctly like 'a dragon with a week's worth of Thestral stuck in its teeth' and had gone home to change. Now, she had on a pretty muggle sweater that looked two sizes too big for her, and some kind of cotton pants that showed off her long legs. If she wasn't so polite, Hermione was sure she'd hate her for making the outfit look so cute and modest.

"'Lo Hermione!" Tessa waved to her from her spot in the other room, with a quick finger waggle and a grin. Tessa was too good at conversing in what should have been a stressful situation for her. Hermione would have been feeling quite faint in her place, but she had known the Weasley's for seven years.

"Hello, Tessa. Care to come watch supper be made?" Hermione patted the chair on her left, the one she knew Harry usually sat in, but had decided he could find a different place for tonight. Tessa smiled and skipped over, sliding onto the mismatched chair.

Tessa looked over at Mrs. Weasley, and gave her a quick greeting before looking back at Hermione, "Why aren't we helping?" Hermione grinned at the innocent question.

"Because I've been told if I touch anything else I'll be hexed with an Itching Pants hex." Tessa's eyes widened in surprise before she smiled, nodding her head in approval of the Weasley matriarch. The floo popped again, the voices of Bill and Fleur coming in through the door, Fleur chastising Charlie for rough housing with his sister. Bill stayed in the room with his siblings, while a now heavily pregnant Fleur came into the kitchen, spotting the girls immediately.

"Oh 'Ermione! I was hoping to zee you before everyone arrived. My 'air, 'as become a complete monster! I thought being pregnant gave you better 'air. Please, 'elp me!" The frizzy blonde haired Veela sat down with a huff, arching her back to get comfortable.

"I'll give you some of my favourite potion, Fleur. If it works, I'll grab a big jar for you from the twins." Hermione popped up and left to go and fetch the small bottle of Hair Taming potion she had left. When she got back, the kitchen had filled with another bushel of Weasley's. Fleur and Tessa were talking about what Hermione assumed was the baby. Charlie had moved in to try and mooch the finished biscuits off his mother. Bill was talking with his father, while Harry tried to listen to the conversation without Ginny poking at his side. Hermione smiled at the already large family and took her seat next to Fleur again. The seating arrangements would probably be all messed up for tonight anyway.

"Hello!" Percy's voice called from the front door, obviously having Apparated. Everyone gave him a quick greeting before going back to their conversations, basically ignoring or not realizing his fiancée was with him. Audrey Pendragon was, in Hermione's opinion (and amusement), a female version of Percy. She was rather frail looking, like she didn't get a lot of sunlight, and her long pin straight black hair washed her out even more. But her face was dotted in adorable freckles over her cheeks, not even hidden behind the thick black frame glasses perched on the end of her nose. She was smiling shyly, but it was a lovely smile, giving her a soft and gentle demeanour. At first glance, Hermione decided she was a good match for Percy, and for the Weasley's. Percy looked over his family and rolled his eyes, taking Audrey over to introduce her to his mother first. Mrs. Weasley met the girl in a big hug, basically welcoming her to the family right then.

George and Angelina were the next to arrive, coming in mid laugh. Angelina had dirt smeared across her cheek and up the bridge of her nose, and George was sporting a huge grass stain up his jersey front. Smiling, Hermione realized they had probably been playing a one-on-one game of Quidditch to prep Angelina for tryouts. They made a pretty picture though, George red faced and Angelina's mocha complexion darkened from the dirt, happy together.

Molly seemed to think differently, "George Weasley, you know better to show up for dinner so filthy! Go wash up, before I send a mop up slap you clean." George winced and left after giving Angelina's waist a quick squeeze. For her part, Angelina blushed and whispered a quick 'Scourgify', wiping her face clean of all dirt and sweat. The girl took a seat across from Hermione, Fleur and Tessa, giving the first two a smile, and sticking her hand out to shake the latter's.

"Hey, I'm Angelina," Tessa smiled politely and shook hands, saying her name and also mentioning she was Charlie's fiancée.

"I feel like we should be wearing name tags, 'Tessa, with Charlie'." Hermione and Fleur broke out in giggles, agreeing with the girl's ridiculous notion. It must be difficult for someone who didn't know the Weasley's to come into the family so suddenly. Angelina grinned at her, and pointed to George who had just come flying down the stairs, receiving another scolding from his mother.

"I'm with Dimwit #1 over there, his twin's on his way later." Hermione couldn't stop the grin, but Tessa looked confused. "It may get confusing with George and Fred though, they tend to switch up on us at times. I can honestly say I've hit on Fred accidently, and they roll with it. Drives me barkin' honestly." Angelina rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea Molly had sent her way.

Hermione laughed again, but now Tessa looked rather devastated, "Are you telling me they're _identical_? Is this family trying to kill me?" The girls all broke down, causing the rest of the room to look at them strangely. Molly only gave them a fond glance before dishing up the supper.

"Suppose we'll have to start without the last three. Ron said they would be a little late, and I don't know where that brother of yours is, George." Mrs. Weasley waved all the food onto the table, and everyone dug in with gusto, Ginny being one of the first to fill her plate. The family dinner raged on for forty minutes before the floo activated again, and the second twin of the duo came out looking quite pissed. Fred gave the family a wave before dashing up the stairs in a flash of magenta work robes. George looked after him in concern but brushed it off when he noticed Hermione was glancing over at him.

"What was that about?" Hermione mumbled under her breath, ignoring the rest of the table for a moment to stare at her food, and wait for Fred to come downstairs. They hadn't been together long enough for them to have fought or seen each other in a bad mood. Fred was always happy; he was a self proclaimed prankster! She was nervous, she realized suddenly, and for once in her life, had no idea what to do.

Fred came down eventually, obviously having showered before changing as his hair was dark with water. He was quiet as he walked around the table like he was going to sit beside Hermione, but then seemed to realize she was already quite crowded. With a heavy sigh Hermione could actually hear, he spun and took the seat next to Harry and his dad, ignoring George's empty seat on his left. Molly looked like she wanted to say something, but kept her lips in a firm line and turned back to Angelina, who had been talking with her quietly about the weddings. Ginny tried to catch her eye, but Hermione took the chance to watch Fred from her seat across the table, and noted he barely touched any of the food his mother had dished out for him. He didn't look up often, mostly to look at George when he called for him to join in on a joke no one else understood. Finally she decided she needed to get his attention. Slowly, she slipped her wand out of her sleeve and sent as small a Patronus she could muster across the table at him. It hit the side of his fork as he went to slowly push his food around, knocking the utensil to the side. He looked up with a frown, following the slinking otter as it trailed back to her, finally catching her eye.

'_What_?' he mouthed, his head shaking back in an irritated manner. Hermione didn't shy away, remembering he had wanted to sit with her earlier, so it couldn't be her he was mad with. She twirled her fingers through the otter and it turned happier at her thoughts before dissipating.

'_What happened?'_ she mouthed back but he shook his head, looking back down to his dinner and poking at it. She turned back to the girls around her, deciding to try and talk to him later after he had calmed down a bit. Tessa brought her back into the conversation about Fleur's newest name choice she'd been toying with, and Hermione relaxed back into her seat, ignoring Audrey's wide eyes at the small Patronus she had witnessed.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Dinner finished up, and the dishes were taken over by Audrey and Tessa, who had to fight for the job, eventually agreeing on it being a onetime thing because they had just met. Hermione, Harry, Angelina and the rest of the Weasley's sat back and watched Molly force herself to sit down and watch her dishes whiz around with the younger witches magic. Hermione stayed in the kitchen while the rest of the family adjourned to the living room, where Charlie broke out the chess board to challenge Bill, and the rest of the boys sat around teasing one another. Ginny tried to sit with Hermione but was eventually called by Harry to settle an argument. Fleur was the next to leave, complaining she needed a cushion. It only took the two girls another minute to finish washing, smiling in triumph when Mrs. Weasley thanked them whole-heartedly. The left to sit with the others, and Mr. Weasley came back in from his shed, Muggle car grease streaked across his shirt front. He mumbled an apology to his wife, who only sighed and gestured for him to leave it on the line for her to tend to later.

Molly was just about to go and rest her feet with her family when the front door opened, Ron stepping in. He was turned to face the door as he closed it softly; mumbling something so quietly no one seemed to be able to hear. He turned around and gave his mum a soft smile, one she returned with a bit of surprise.

"You're a bit late, Ronald. I thought you said you were going to bring Romilda tonight." Molly asked, and Hermione thought she sounded a bit hurt.

"I did, mum. But I need to talk with everyone first."

"She couldn't come during supper? Everyone was sitting down. You could have talked then." Ron was looking a bit chuffed now.

"Mum, I'm serious. She's nervous, and I need to tell everyone why." Hermione was surprised by his tone, so Molly must have been shocked. Eventually she nodded and waved him to the other room. He paused and looked over a Hermione, hesitating to go,

"'Mione, do you think you could, er, grab Romilda for me? I don't know how long this will take."

"Course Ron, I'll get her." He smiled, and went to turn, but hesitated again.

"Just be, nice," he still didn't sound sure of himself, so Hermione waited patiently for him. "Well, you're always nice, so I know you'll be great. But I mean be, ready, I guess." Now Ron turned fully and disappeared into the throng of harassing and teasing from his siblings. Hermione gave the occupants of the kitchen a weird look, but stood from her seat and moved to open the door, slipping out as small an opening as she could make. It took her a second, but eventually Hermione got used to the dark and saw a slim silhouette leaning against the crooked wall of the Burrow.

"Ron?" a timid voice Hermione thought sounded familiar, rose from the person, but she didn't step any closer or move too much.

"It's Hermione, actually. Ron said he needed to talk to the rest of the Weasley's and sent me out here. I'm assuming so you're not left out here in the cold." She grinned, hoping Romilda would recognize she was joking. A light giggle rose, but it didn't sound very convincing.

"That's nice of you, thank you Hermione." She said everything like it was a fact, straight and to the point. Hermione fluttered around for a new topic, trying not to be awkward but failing horribly. This didn't; sound much like the girl she had met at Hogwarts.

"Did you want to come in? If you're hungry, I know Molly will make something for you."

"No, Hermione, I think maybe I should wait until Ron is finished warning everyone." Romilda still hadn't moved, and Hermione was beginning to get concerned.

"Sorry, what is he warning everyone about? I'm sort of missing the memo." She tried joking again, but it fell just as flat as the first. Apparently Fred needed to give her better lessons on jokes to say during an awkward situation. Romilda sighed, but seemed to agree with her, as she moved away from the wall, visibly shaking. Hermione waited until she had gotten close enough before sticking out her hand to help, unsure if the girl was going to fall. Romilda ignored it, tripping over the first step first before Hermione grabbed her, steadying the other girl on her feet. Romilda still didn't focus on the other hand Hermione was offering her. And then Hermione saw why.

The once gorgeous, unblemished face of the dark beauty was marred with three long, ugly scars. They began on the left temple and went down diagonally to the opposite side of her chin, dipping down her cheeks and up her nose. The middle scar went straight across her eyes, damaging the corner of her right brow. She didn't focus on Hermione at all, her eyes white and blank, hazed with blindness. She had kept her hand out when she had tripped, and it was still waiting for contact from something as she couldn't see anything around her. Hermione immediately felt horrible, though she knew it wasn't her fault.

"Oh Romilda," she whispered, and even put her hand on the girls face. To her credit, Romilda didn't flinch, like she was quite used to this reaction, and grinned sadly.

"Yeah," the girls were silent, mourning for something together. Hermione pulled away first, to give the other witch a moment to recover, and herself another look at the long scratches.

"How did this happen?" Romilda sighed and traced the largest one that spanned the entirety of her face.

"Greyback, if you'll believe it. Didn't bother biting or raping, just messed up my face. Took one look at me after the first backhand and thought two more seemed like a good idea. The third one, I had twisted and tried to move, and unfortunately he caught me across the eyes. The last thing I saw was his ugly mug, and a bright flash of some kind of spell. Now all I see is black, and occasionally, if my eyes aren't too sore, a change of light."

Hermione was silent, mourning this girl's loss, "If it makes you feel any better at all, that spell would have been mine. I killed him when I saw Lavender's dead body under him, and someone else on the ground. I assume that would have been you. And I'm sorry I didn't come over to check on you." Romilda obviously couldn't see, but to Hermione it felt like this witch was looking straight into her soul.

"Thank you," she didn't say anything else, but Hermione thought it was the best thanks she had received from anyone in her entire life. The stayed on the porch together for another moment of silence until Hermione suggested moving inside once more. This time, Romilda agreed, deciding Ron was taking too long after all. She didn't ask for help, used to people forgetting she was handicapped, but Hermione fitted her hand into her elbow, leading the blind girl in behind her, giving a running commentary as she led her in.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Fred was barely listening anymore. Ron had been telling them about Romilda's accident for too long now, and while he was sorry for the girl, he couldn't seem to focus any longer. Dinner had been a pain; he had been looking forward to touching Hermione, holding her hand while they got to eat dinner together, and forgetting about the nasty reporter he'd run into at the store. Instead, he had found her surrounded by his future sister-in-laws, laughing and having an all together great time. He couldn't pull her away from that, she didn't have a lot of face time with females around his family, and taking her away would have been selfish. So instead he sat and sulked, ignoring her and George in favour of his bad mood.

"There's a weird corner of the entryway that will hit your hip if you don't take a step left, hopefully you remember that better than I do, because I hit it every time." Fred perked his head up when he heard Hermione coming closer. She passed through the door, like she was leading a puppy inside. George nudged him, like he was trying to dissuade him from making a joke, but Fred was quite speechless. Hermione had Romilda on her arm, the other girls hand tucked into her elbow as she patiently led her inside, and describing the room like it was a common occurrence for her.

Romilda looked worse than Ron had described to them, and Fred could already see Molly tearing up. Her eyes were already hazed over, and the scars were more visible as well, but there was a small grin tugging at her lips. Romilda looked like she couldn't decide if she was excited or sad about the fact Hermione was helping her so happily around the ramshackle house. Fred couldn't stop watching the pair, his bad mood all but forgotten as Hermione made her way around the room. She was purposefully allowing Romilda to bump lightly into any of the furniture that could be hazardous, letting her know where she was as they circled the room, and finally sat down on the couch, with Hermione right next to Fred. Romilda sat herself next to her new friend, folding her hands primly in her lap. Molly immediately began to ask Romilda how she was, aside from the obvious. Ron had glared at their mother for the tactless question, but Romilda answered with excitement. Fred assumed she must not have been socializing very much, and according to Ron, she hadn't been back in the Wizarding world much since her accident.

They sat in the sitting room all together, just talking with and around Romilda, but Fred didn't say a thing. Hermione had laced her fingers through his casually, keeping her attention solely on Romilda even though the other girl couldn't know she was looking at her. He felt a heavy pressing on his chest, like he suddenly couldn't breathe properly with Hermione beside him. His head was pounding, but he felt insanely proud of his fiancée. And shocked at himself for referring to Hermione as his fiancée, even if it was in his head. This woman had to be the most considerate, kind-hearted witch he had ever met, and he couldn't believe his luck in this cesspool of a mad marriage law. With his chest heavy, and head pounding in confusion and pride, Fred came to the startling conclusion he had fallen deeply in love with the brightest witch of their age.

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

**That ended nicer than I was expecting, I wrote this in quite a few different parts, hoping it would blend together. The sappiness in this entire story comes from watching Pride &amp; Prejudice every time, just fyi.**

**Please review, I enjoy receiving those emails. **

**Thanks, AJ**


	14. Teddy and Blue

**No, I'm not finished. I will expressively say when this story is finished. We have quite a ways to go first. Warning, I'm diverging from canon a bit more here to help my story line and go with the flow of this marriage law. Also, not very much Fremione, this chapter is mostly Ginny and Harry and Teddy. Did anyone else just realize their names are cute-sie together?**

**Okay, I lied, I wrote this ^ earlier, and just finished the ending. There most definitely is Fremione. **

**Thank you for the lovely reviews, they've all been perfectly adorable!**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

A few days had passed since the full family gathering at the Burrow, and the place had never been so quiet. Bill, Charlie, and Percy had all moved back out of their childhood home officially, leaving the place much emptier than before. Mrs. Weasley hadn't been very excited to be losing her children again, but Mr. Weasley seemed to have talked her down. The twins had already set to cleaning out their flat above the shop, and had left this morning to bring their belongings back to their respective places. Harry had the feeling Hermione may be following them there eventually, but hadn't mentioned anything to him as of yet, and Mrs. Weasley certainly hadn't been tipped off. Harry still hadn't asked Ron what he was doing, as they had both been toying with the job offer Kingsley had offered to them the day before. The Minister had sent them an owl early in the morning, before even Hermione had been up and moving, asking them both to visit him at his office. Harry had taken it upon himself to wake and push Ron up, so they could reach Kingsley in time. Ron hadn't woken really until they had stepped in front of Kingsley.

_'Morning boys,' the deep booming tones of the large man had made Ron sit up straight, sill bleary eyes, but awake none the less. _

_ 'Morning Kingsley, what can we do for you?' Kingsley had smiled at Harry, a kind and excited smile he hadn't worn in years._

_ 'I've a proposition for the two of you. I understand neither of you are very interested in attending Hogwarts in the fall?'_

_ 'I wasn't aware we were being invited back. Hermione should be excited.' Ron mumbled, still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Kingsley had nodded sagely, like he was thinking deeply._

_ 'Yes, McGonagall will be inviting all the seventh years that couldn't finish their year to come back. But, I have the feeling you're both quite past sitting in classrooms after the last year you've had.' both younger wizards nodded, agreeing immediately with this sentiment, 'In that case, I would like to offer you both positions in the next Auror training.'_

Harry could remember having to catch Ron from tipping out of his chair, both of their faces rather shocked, but interested all the same. Kingsley had sent them home to think about the opportunity before agreeing. They had done so, and slept on it as well, but now Harry was awake much too early, writing a letter to Kingsley to accept the position. He was just finishing when Ginny popped down the stairs like she did most mornings he woke up too early. His chest got a heavy feeling as she skipped over to him, chipper in mood this morning. She placed a kiss to his cheek as she passed, her ginger hair sweeping across his shoulder once she moved on to the kettle.

"Morning, Gin," he said, folding up his letter to seal it before she read it, and then feeling guilty immediately for hiding it. She should know about this, it would affect her too now. "Er, can I ask you something?"

"Good morning Harry, and yes, you can." She didn't turn around as she was tending to the two mugs.

"What would you think if I didn't finish school?" He asked quickly, not wanting to alert her. Ginny didn't even pause or turn to address him, shrugging and pouring the hot water in the two cups.

"I'd think you're probably smarter than most teachers there now anyways, and wouldn't get much out of attending. Why do you ask?" Ginny spun around now, both mugs in hand and carried them over to place one in front of Harry, giving him another morning kiss.

"Kingsley offered me an Auror position yesterday. And I'm accepting it," he lifted the finished letter lamely, watching her from the corner of his eye. Though the view was a bit blurry as his glasses didn't reach that far, but she didn't seem to be angry or sad about this bit of news.

"Ron too?" he nodded, watching her straight on now, as she took a sip of her tea and nodded.

"That's what you want to do, yeah? I think it's a good idea." Harry didn't say anything, just sealed his letter and leaned over to his fiancée, placing a large kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks Gin,"

Ginny smiled up at him, her mouth full of tea, so she didn't say anything. Harry brought his letter over to Hedwig, who had taken to keeping herself at the Burrow instead of following Harry to Grimmauld. He attached the letter to his owl's leg and told her to bring it to Kingsley. She nipped his fingers affectionately before hopping off the sill and launching herself into the air. Harry took a moment to watch Hedwig fly off until the tiny white speck was no longer visible. Instead, he looked across the Burrow's land and noticed an older man standing on the outskirts of the protections borders. He was standing almost directly on the Apparition point, looking around like he was trying to find a way to alert them. Harry took the chance this man was from the Ministry if his robes were anything to judge by, and went out to greet him. He kept his wand out and at the ready as he lowered the point of the protection spells enough to allow the man in.

"Hello Mr. Potter," The man said immediately, taking a step inside so Harry could lower the wards once again, "I'm Gregoritch Mubblin; I work at the Ministry for Relocation and Life Support of Young Witches and Wizards." He stuck his hand out, and Harry decided to trust him enough to shake the wizard's hand.

"May I see identification Mr. Mubblin," It wasn't really a question, and Harry wasn't going to allow the man to ignore him. Mr. Mubblin did in fact have his identification with him, brandishing it for Harry immediately, like he knew it would be asked for. "Alright, what is this about then?"

Mubblin cleared his throat and gestured to the Burrow hopefully, "May we sit for this Mr. Potter? It is rather unfortunate news I've brought you today." Harry nodded and led him in to the Burrow, warning the man to try and be quiet, as a few of the house mates have not yet woken. Mubblin was a perfect guest, following Harry without straying and sitting down at the table calmly, not knocking into a single thing, as he seemed a bumbling fellow. Ginny was still at the long table, a few seats from where Harry had placed Mubblin. She glanced up from her Quibbler Luna had dropped off yesterday, taking stock of the Ministry worker in front of her. The man stuck out his hand, introducing himself to her immediately after seating himself.

"Gregoritch Mubblin, ma'am," Ginny shook his hand lightly, saying her name for the man, "oh, I know. I have to say though, off the record, my wife and I were tickled pink when we found out you were matched with Mr. Potter for the marriage law. She's been ranting about the two of you for months." Ginny looked slightly shocked, and moved her chair subtly closer to Harry's, and tried to go back to reading her magazine.

"Now Mr. Potter, would you please sit so we may get on with our business?" Ginny gave Harry a look, but Harry had no answer for her, or any idea what he had business for.

"Yes, what is this about?" Harry asked once he was settled. Mr Mubblin opened his case and retrieved a large stack of papers that shouldn't have fit inside, and laid them out across the table for Harry. Ginny's curiosity got the best of her, and she climbed over to the next chair to read over Harry's shoulder. Mubblin cleared his throat and leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him.

"Mr. Potter, I regret to inform you that Mrs. Andromeda Tonks has passed away. She was admitted into St. Mungo's late last night, and unfortunately did not make it past three hours. Her charge, young Mr. Edward Lupin, has been taken into temporary care at Mungo's until better care can be found for him. Which is my job, and why I am here before you now."

Ginny had covered her mouth in shock, a small squeak escaping her from the news. Harry himself was in a weird state of shock and disbelief. He hadn't seen Teddy for months; the last had been two months after the Battle of Hogwarts. Andromeda had told him he was welcome to visit, but he hadn't gotten around to it, and had felt horrible in ignoring them. Now he wouldn't be able to do that, and Teddy was alone.

"Where is Teddy going?" Harry asked, but it came out strangled and worn.

"I would like to ask you the same question, Mr. Potter." Mr. Mubblin said, gaining both of their attentions.

"Why?"

"You are named Edward Lupin's godfather, Mr. Potter. You were aware of this fact, were you not?" Harry nodded, unable to speak as of yet, "With no other relations available for Mr. Lupin, you are his next of kin." Harry was speechless, gaping at the Ministry worker like a fish.

"I get Teddy?" Mubblin grumbled a bit, but nodded eventually.

"If that is what you choose. But it is my duty, Mr. Potter, to try and have you see reason in this situation. Mr. Lupin is only a year old, he can be quite a challenge to handle, as most babies are. In your situation Mr. Potter, being only eighteen now, and getting married, adding a baby to the mix now may not be the best choice for either of you."

Ginny looked rather enraged by Mr. Mubblin's little speech, "Are you asking him to give Teddy away?"

The man did look regrettably sorrow, but stuck to his belief, "I am, though I know it's not an easy thing to do. We have a few families willing and checked out for Teddy to go to."

"No," Harry finally said, looking up into this man's eyes, glaring him down.

"Mr. Potter, please do think about this first,"

"Mr. Mubblin, in case you are unaware, though I doubt it, I am an orphan. I know exactly what Teddy is going to go through if he is sent to a family that doesn't know him. If I have the right to have him, I want him here with me to grow up loved by this family, and the one Ginny and I will have together. There is no way in hell I am leaving that boy by himself." Harry was trying very hard not to shout, but had already raised his voice higher than he should have. Ginny was nodding along with him, fully onboard with this idea. The Ministry man sighed but nodded, like he had known this would happen.

"Then, Mr. Potter, if you would sign here," Harry did so quickly, handing back the quill, "and I have a few questions for you before we can allow Teddy to be brought to you."

"Alright, go ahead,"

"Where will you be living?"

"I live here, and am in the process of cleaning out the apartment my godfather left to me. Ginny and I will be living there after we're married."

"That will be acceptable, but we will have to visit before we hand Teddy over. For a safety check." Harry agreed, knowing it would be a good idea, especially if it would ensure him Teddy.

"What is your work situation?"

"If you're worried about money, I can honestly say it's not going to be a problem." A blush lit Harry's cheeks, but he didn't lose eye contact.

"I am, but I'm more worried about the amount of time you will have for Teddy if you will be working long hours."

"Ah, well, I just set the Minster a letter to accept a position as an Auror. But, while training, Teddy will have Ginny, or her mother. And I know there will be a number of aunts and uncles willing to babysit him for us." Mr. Mubblin agreed that would be an okay arrangement. He shuffled through his stack of papers, and had Harry sign a few more spots, and even handed to quill to Ginny for a few from her as well.

"Now, Miss Weasley, you are of age, but am I correct in assuming you will be attending Hogwarts this fall?" Ginny nodded, but she didn't seem happy about it, "While attending Hogwarts, it is against the law to bestow upon a student, any parental rights they may have to a charge not of their own blood. In this case, I will have you sign this form that will give you custody of Edward Lupin were Mr. Harry Potter to become unable to care for him. This gives you the right to care for him, or choose an appropriate party for Mr. Lupin. Is this clear?" Ginny nodded, but Harry noticed a few tears in her eyes, and reminded himself to ask her how she really felt about this later. Each of them signed a few more places, and Mr. Mubblin sign one himself before he folded all the papers up again, keeping one out. He handed this single piece to Harry, shaking his hand and Ginny's before excusing himself.

"I'll be off now to inspect your apartment, with your permission Mr. Potter? It will be a cursory glance around, only as much as your elf will allow. Once I'm satisfied I can send Mr. Lupin straight this way, if that would appease you?" Harry was feeling overwhelmed, but agreed wholeheartedly, knowing Mrs. Weasley would be fine with helping them settle Teddy. "Good day Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley." and the man left the house, Disapparating once he reached the point.

Harry and Ginny were silent for a long while, listening to the house begin to wake up, and Mrs. Weasley walking above their heads.

"Pretty sure we've done this all backwards, but I think you did the right thing, Harry." Ginny whispered to him, hearing her mother moving around as well. Harry smiled for her, squeezing her fingers between his.

"You'll be a good mum for him Gin, we'll be fine." Ginny got teary eyed again, but didn't say anything as her mother had appeared at the end of the steps, offering them her good mornings and asking who was at the door this morning.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Harry had collected Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Hermione and Ron in the sitting room to tell them his, and Ginny's, news. They were quite shocked, as they were right to be, and Mrs. Weasley hadn't been able to stop blubbering about Andromeda's passing.

"That poor woman, after everything. It was her nerves I'm sure; couldn't handle it anymore." Mr. Weasley kept patting his wife's arm, trying to console her, but hadn't said anything yet.

"And they're just going to drop Teddy off for you?" Hermione asked, trying to regain control of the conversation again.

"He said he was checking out Grimmauld, and I had Kreacher allow him in and to watch him. I just received the owl a while ago that it was approved. So I'll be seeing Teddy in a few, I assume." Ginny nodded, but she hadn't looked away from the window. Harry glanced over her shoulder and saw why; Mr. Mubblin had returned with a witch in his stead, a pram hanging from her arm.

"He's here," Ginny said, hopping up from her seat and dashing into the kitchen to reach the door first. Harry was not two steps behind her, keeping his hands down on her shoulders to stop her from hopping up and down excitedly. Hermione and Ron stayed in the sitting room, knowing if they were to join they would cause a jam in the door. Mrs. Weasley had no such qualms, almost shoving the couple over to see the two come up her front porch. Harry reached forward and opened the door, his wand still out in his hand automatically.

"Mr. Potter, it is good to see you so soon," Harry nodded, not quite agreeing with the sentiment, as the man had severely pissed him off on his last visit. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley moved back quickly, making room to the table, where the witch, now obviously a Medi-Witch, placed the pram on the table.

"May I?" Ginny asked, already itching to see Teddy. The Medi-Witch nodded, already quite aware of her and Harry's strange enough situation. She leaned back the top of the pram, and pulled off the pale blue blanket covering the sleeping baby inside. Ginny could almost feel her heart breaking at the sight of the child in front of her. He was breathing deeply, asleep for the count, his eyelashes fluttering lightly as he dreamt innocently. His cheeks were chubby, even more so than the last time she had seen him, weeks after he had been born. He was just over a year old now. One of his hands were fisted in the second blanket lain over him, while the other was twirled in his pale blonde hair, a close match to Mr. Mubblin's. The rest of his tiny body was covered in a white sleeper and the blanket, but Ginny didn't need to see the rest of him now. She was in love.

"Harry," she whispered, receiving a squeeze around her hips from his hands she hadn't known were placed there.

"I know Gin," she felt him lean into her and place a kiss on the back of her head, nuzzling into her hair, "Me too." Ginny knew she was crying now, could feel the tears running down her face, but she didn't make a sound. Nothing could stop her now, and she reached into the pram, tucking her hands under his warm body carefully to pull him up into her arms. Teddy fussed around a bit initially, but her warm body was too inviting and he fell back to sleep quickly, nuzzled into her neck and shoulder.

"Hi Teddy," Harry whispered over her shoulder, watching both of them in contentment.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

George and Fred had been split up all morning. The end of April wasn't usually this busy, most kids in school, or still in trouble from pranks they pulled on the first. But the Hogwarts school year hadn't happened this year, on account of the battle making a mess of the place.

Fred was at his wits end with the mass of people. No one had been immensely rude, or gotten in his face about the after effects of one of the trick sweets, but he was in a terrible mood. He knew it was because of _her. _He hadn't seen or spoken to Hermione since the full family dinner on Sunday. It was Friday afternoon now, and he was beginning to feel rather desperate. George wasn't helping matters either; purposefully leaving his twin on cash, or setting off the Instant Darkness Powder under his nose, and then laughing at his bad mood. He was minutes away from running out the front door to rid himself of the noise and distractions.

"Fred? Seriously this time, are you okay?" Fred snapped out of his weird daydream of bursting the door off the shop, and using the current customers as a bridge to get over the bumpy steps. Verity was leaning over the cash counter, just barely reaching his shoulder.

"No, I'm really not, Ver. But we're almost done, right? What time is it?" Verity checked her watch as Fred rubbed his face quickly, trying to get his tired eyes to open fully.

"Half past noon," He glared at the offending time piece, daring it to change before he smashed it to pieces. Unfortunately, the ticking continued methodically, ignoring his wishes.

"Bloody hell, I'm going out for lunch Verity. Tell George when you see him?" their assistant nodded, leaving him alone now that she had done her duty. Fred grabbed a few Galleons from the register and spun around, quick as a cat, to get to the door before anyone could stop him.

Of course, speak of the devil, the shop cat, Treacle, decided then was a good time to wind herself around his ankles. Not spotting her in time, he hooked his foot underneath her belly, lifting her enough to trip her up as well. Treacle spun around with a hiss and a snarl, swiping at his leg.

"Oh you stupid, ruddy thing; move! That was _your _fault. You're so lucky you haven't been tossed out on your ass, I wouldn't push your luck right now with the mood I'm in." Treacle didn't scatter like he would have liked her too, but she did move back a bit, her glare unwavering.

"Fred? Did you just yell at a cat?" A voice asked him from the doorway, but he ignored them a moment to continue his staring match with Treacle.

"No, I yelled at Morgana's spawn." the voice turned into a giggle, tearing his eyes away from the cat and catching sight of a highly amused Hermione Granger. His throat felt like it dropped into his stomach, and tried to straighten up but the leg he'd tripped over Treacle with didn't feel like participating. She was still smiling at him, waiting for him to say something. It took him another minute, but he did eventually stand erect and give her an over sized smile.

"Hello," she giggled at him again. She wasn't a giggler, but Fred thought he wouldn't mind her doing it again.

"Hello,"

"Would you like to come grab lunch with me? I haven't seen you in a bit, and thought we could talk?" Hermione asked calmly, bending over to collect Treacle up in her arms. Fred watched her bend over, eyes glued to the arse of his fiancée, snapping back to attention when she turned around holding the purring half-Kneazle. "Fred? Lunch?"

"Yes! What? Yes, I will have lunch with you. But we're not taking the cat." He stumbled over every word, but made her giggle again. Hermione dropped Treacle onto the counter by the window and turned to leave. Fred followed immediately, trailing behind her and shutting the door behind him. He met her on the stoop, giving her another huge grin.

"So, now that I've made a complete fool of myself in front of you, where would you like to eat?"

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Hermione snorted for the fourth time since sitting down with Fred at the Three Broomsticks, her chuckles catching their waitress' attention again. Fred was grinning at her, proud of himself for yet again making her almost spit out their drinks.

"You did not do that. Ron would have said something if you had."

"Honestly, 'Mione, you think Ronniekins would tell you I stuffed his pillowcase with hamsters?" Hermione coughed out a sore laugh, her stomach beginning to hurt.

"Right, okay, I'll believe you." Fred chuckled along with her this time, taking another chip from her plate before she could slap at his hand. They had been eating for forty minutes already, and Fred was having a much better day because of it. He didn't miss the fact this was their first real date, and had gone out of his way to keep her laughing.

"Okay, now that you've almost completely finished my chips, I admit I dragged you here to ask something." Hermione said with a coy smile aimed his way, and watched as he raised a brow curiously, his mischievous grin stretching over his lips.

"Why, Granger, I'm flattered. But I must admit my mother won't approve of our dallying before marriage."

"And I'm sure you've then told her about your other 'dalliances', during Hogwarts?" His grin slipped, while hers grew.

"Okay, what's your question?" he leaned in, deciding to ignore her hidden question. Hermione smiled at him, but it felt forced. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about everything they needed to get done before marrying, and they only had a few more months to actually get married. She was beginning to stress; and Molly wasn't really helping, pushing her along as she helped the other girls finish up their plans. It didn't help that she and Fred had ignored the entire thing, and hadn't talked about anything yet. Ginny and Harry were getting married in weeks already!

"I thought we should, you know, think about dates." Hermione started out shyly, not noticing Fred looking a bit confused.

"We're on a date, 'Mione."

She glared at him in annoyance, "I know, Fred. I meant wedding dates. For us, as we do have to get married in the next four months, and we haven't told your mother anything yet. I haven't wanted to think about it at all, but we're pushing it now. I thought picking out the day would be a good start." Fred was watching her, not looking away embarrassed or ignoring the conversation she was trying to have. He looked a bit sad, if she was being truthful.

"Hermione, I'm sorry."

"For what?" she was now rather confused; she couldn't think why that would have garnered an apology.

"Leaving you with all of this. I honestly didn't even think about it, I was focused on trying to get you to like me. And feel, um, comfortable I suppose, with having to marry me." She felt her cheeks grow warm, but couldn't be sure if it was from Fred's adorable nature, or the Butterbeers they'd consumed.

"Oh Fred," she sighed, and leaned over the entire table, not caring that she almost upset the salt shaker, to press a kiss to his downturned lips. He was surprised for sure, but returned her kiss lightly, realizing they would attract an audience eventually. She let him go, and settled herself back in her seat, a delightful blush coloring her cheeks. Fred stayed rather flummoxed, watching her settle back comfortably.

"I did something right, then?" his cheek was back, making a small grin quirk Hermione's lips.

"I'd say so, yes. Now, any dates in the foreseeable, four month future?" Fred relaxed in his chair as well, leaning his head back to think.

"June thirtieth." He said, smiling, while Hermione frowned a bit.

"That's an odd date, why'd you pick that?"

"Well, it's exactly two months away, it being April thirtieth today, and I figure if our anniversary date is something easy to remember, like the last day of the month, I won't go forgetting it in the future." His sly grin was back, daring Hermione to try and find a better reason.

"That's, actually pretty brilliant. I'll tell your mum next time I see her."

Fred winked saucily, and waved their waitress over for their bill, "You do that love, and remember to tell her what a loving, thoughtful fiancé you have." Hermione rolled her eyes, but made a mental note to do just that.

Hermione had taken Fred's hand once they'd left the pub, swinging their clasped hands gently between them as they walked. She was rather content in his company, loving the small chatter around them from the rest of Hogsmeade. Fred had promised her the rest of the day, saying George could handle the rest of the day on his own. Secretly, he was glad to be spiting his twin, and spending time with Hermione. He _had _missed her this week, and hadn't exactly spoken to her at Sunday dinner. Wedding talk wasn't his ideal conversation topic, but he knew it had to get done, otherwise he could have an angry bride and mother to deal with come the day. So far, they'd decided the date, the obvious fact of his best man, and Ginny as Hermione's maid of honour. She'd expressed the desire to have some kind of flower girl, but was aware they had no children around the family. He had sportingly volunteered Ron, deciding he would look the best in a fluffy skirt, trailing petals behind him. Hermione had laughed, but nixed the idea immediately for Ron's sake. But she said she would ask Ginny if Teddy could be walked down the aisle for their ring bearer. Fred agreed, liking the idea of having the tot there, knowing he would eventually see Hermione holding the baby.

"Okay last question for today, and then I'm done. Wedding planning is exhausting." Fred laughed at her, swinging their clasped hand high up in the air, letting gravity take over on their downward arch.

"Please say it's an easy one, I'm about to collapse."

"It should be, it's just the colours." she smiled, waiting for him to come up with some obnoxious colour.

"Blue, a very light blue." Hermione gave him a strange look that he returned, crossing his eyes as well, "Problem?"

"Yes, I was expecting some strange orange tone to be perfectly honest."

"But you look pretty in blue, and I was thinking of your Yule Ball dress. Most beautiful thing I'd ever seen that was." Fred closed his eyes a moment, revelling in the sudden reappearance of that delightful dress on the witch next to him. He was yanked back, spinning around to see Hermione grinning at him in a rather stupid manner. She jumped at his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist. Before he could even figure out what had happened, she laid another surprise kiss on him.

"We must stop meeting like this," he mumbled between their lips on a breath break.

"I don't bloody think so. I'm going to kiss you as I please Mr. Weasley." She grinned again, watching his pupils dilate and close the space between them, reveling in the close kiss.

"My pleasure, Miss Granger."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**I was going to keep going on this one, but I'd like most of my chapters to be the same length. They may seem short to you, but it takes all my brain power to focus on finishing **


	15. Victorie's and Fights

**Here comes baby Victorie.**

**And, okay, this chapter will be long. Much longer than all the previous ones, and its because I needed to get this all together and done with to keep moving on. I've felt kind of stuck trying to get to this fight, so I thought giving one really long chapter wouldn't be too bad. **

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Hermione collapsed onto the dusty couch in Grimmauld Place, creating quite a stir of dust and dirt flying around her head. She tried to ignore it, but she was pretty sure a pixie hit her bun on the way out. Ginny landed somewhere in the same vicinity as her friend, Teddy resting comfortably against her chest. Hermione had arrived at Harry's home minutes ago, needing to sit down after her last goodbye kiss, from her date with Fred. She hadn't even realized Ginny was there until she'd opened the door to an intense Bat-Bogey Hex, and a frightened ginger. Once she realized what had happened, Ginny rushed to fix up her friend and led her in, letting her know Harry had decided she and Teddy should have a day to themselves.

"So we went to Honeydukes where we played with every sticky surface, I brought him to the small play yard in Ottery St. Catchpole where he ate a handful of sand. And to finish our day, I took him to the twins' shop, where Teddy managed to collect enough Whizz-Bangs to set the window display on fire."

Hermione sat shocked, staring at her friend, who had managed to whip herself into a tizzy, while Teddy lay content against her chest. "Is the shop okay now?"

Ginny gave Hermione a glare for ignoring the obvious, "Yes, George put it out. He was beside me when it happened. How can I be this bad at this, 'Mione?"

"At what? Parenting? Ginny, you've been an official mum for a day; you're allowed to be bad for a few weeks more, at least."

"But Hermione! He ate sand!"

"Are you saying you never have?"

Hermione got another glare from the other girl, "That's beside the point; this child could be in danger when he's with me. I feel like I need to give him to my mother whenever I'm alone. This is actually why Harry left me with him, to 'bond'. More like, 'an excuse for Ginny to kill him'." Ginny flopped against the back of her chair, disturbing Teddy this time and the baby woke up. His hands wrapped around Ginny's long hair immediately, letting out an annoyed cry before trying to sit up and look around. Ginny watched him carefully, making sure he didn't tip over or begin to cry again. Instead he leaned down to be let on the floor, eager to explore.

"I think you'll be fine, Gin." Hermione grinned at the baby, watching him scoot to her chair and pull himself up. Ginny watched him the whole way, smiling softly at the boy.

"Maybe,"

The girls watched Teddy scoot himself around, leaving the home filled with happy gurgling and an occasional bubbly laugh. He took a few turns around the room before growing bored, and tried to pull some of the not-so-safe pieces of furniture closer. Ginny pulled them back and flicked her wand at them, miniaturizing them to hand sized, and pocketing them quickly. Teddy didn't agree with her methods, starting to fuss loudly. He toppled over eventually, leaning into Hermione's legs and lifting his arms in a pitiful move, wanting to be picked up.

"Oh Teddy, you're just fine. Look here; watch Auntie 'Mione." Hermione cooed at the baby by her feet, and waved her wand, producing her Patronus for Teddy. The happy otter came out bouncing, twirling around the circumference of the room, jumping through and off the walls. Teddy was transfixed, his eyes unable to leave the bounding otter as it began to play with some invisible play mate, tussling into Teddy's side.

"I've always loved your Patronus, Hermione. It's adorable." Hermione glared playfully while Ginny picked Teddy up to sit him on her lap.

"Yes, that's what I want to here. The deepest part of my soul is absolutely adorable."

"It's better than a pony, yeah?"

Hermione threw her hands up, "You have a freaking Clydesdale! It's intimidating!" Ginny laughed at the other witch, but didn't bring it up any more. Teddy was beginning to get rowdy from the otter's show, grabbing her hair too tightly.

"So," Ginny grunted, loosening Teddy's grip and handing him one of his stuffed dragons, "how was the date with my brother?"

"Oh good, we decided on a few wedding things, had a long lunch. And apparently skived working off onto George." Hermione grinned, knowing she would get an earful from both twins. Ginny perked up at wedding details, scooting closer to Hermione.

"Did you set a date?" Hermione smiled, a sappy grin flitting across her face.

"Fred wants June thirtieth,"

"Fred picked it out? My brother, Fredrick?"

"Yes, Fredrick Gideon Weasley. Though he did say it was partially because it was easier to remember, but I can't be mad, 'cause he picked it out." Hermione grinned again, looking over at Ginny to see her looking completely stunned.

"His middle name is Gideon?!"

"Is Ron really the only one who knows?" Hermione screeched, and then fell into a pile of giggles, Ginny laughing as well, hugging Teddy tight to her shoulder.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

A few days later, Hermione found Harry at the Burrow, Teddy sprawled out on the floor in a pile of blankets passed out. She watched him as she moved around the large pile, making sure she didn't make too much noise and wake him up.

"Morning Harry," she whispered, landing right next to her friend. Harry smiled gently, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a hug, leaving it there comfortably as he watched his godson sleep.

"Molly invited us over, but once we got Teddy to sleep, Ginny ditched and went upstairs to bed." He grinned down at his friend who was trying to stifle her laugh.

"The poor thing," Harry nodded in agreement, still making sure to whisper.

"She's done really well, this whole week has been incredibly difficult but I think I feel closer to her now. Teddy is great though, I wouldn't give him up if I had to choose again." Hermione decided to ignore the teary eyes of her friend, knowing full well he wouldn't want her to bring it up or tease him. Harry still had trouble letting go of all the people he lost in the war, and was emotional most of the time he was around something that reminded him of them.

"Well, you know he's got lots of future aunties that will scoop him up from you when you two are feeling overwhelmed."

Harry looked down at one of his best friends, and really watched her. She wasn't looking at him, but her eyes were stuck to Teddy, simply watching his chest move in deep sleep. "You'll be a great mum, Hermione."

Her eyes filled with tears, wiping them away quickly with the Weasley sweater she had on, "Harry, I shouldn't want to have a baby this young. I'm only eighteen."

"Well, you're almost nineteen technically. And you are getting married; it's okay to want a family with someone you love." They sat in the sudden silence, both feeling awkward in the tense atmosphere. "Do you love Fred?"

"Merlin, Harry! We wouldn't even be together if it weren't for the law. How could I want a family with him, if he doesn't love me?"

Harry spun himself around to face her straight on, "Does that mean you want him to? Hermione, you had better answer me this time, or I'm getting Ginny; do you love Fred?"

"Harry,"

"Hermione," she shifted uncomfortably, hiding her face in his shoulder, mumbling something he couldn't catch. "Say again?"

"Yes, I do. But I can't figure out how it happened! How could I fall in love with someone in two months?"

"Maybe, and this may be pushing it a bit, but maybe you liked him a bit before you were paired together?" Hermione stayed silent, processing the possibility of that. Before she could think too much on the idea, Mrs. Weasley burst into the living room, a steak knife and her wand in both hands. The two younger adults sunk into the couch, staring in fright and confusion at the otherwise matronly witch.

"Er, Mrs. Weasley?"

"What? Oh, sorry dears," Hermione thought she may have seen a Patronus drift away behind Molly, "Just had some news. Harry dear, would you fetch Ginny for me? And Hermione if you could bundle Teddy up, get him ready to go out."

Harry moved slowly, but did as he was told, trailing up the stairs to fetch his fiancée, "Molly, where are we going?" Hermione asked, but she still Accio-ed Teddy's small jacket to her, and dressed her before he could wake and cause a fuss.

"Oh, Bill just sent his Patronus. Fleur's in labour, we should be getting there soon." Molly turned around, walking calmly back into her kitchen, leaving Hermione gaping after her mother figure in shock.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Hermione and Harry arrived into St. Mungo's, with Teddy bundled up in Harry's arms, seconds after Mrs. Weasley had arrived alongside Mr. Weasley and bustled straight through the maternity ward. The Medi-Witch at the sign in counter looked like she wanted to stop them, so Hermione went over to her to smooth things over. It took the young girl a second, but eventually her eyes drifted behind Hermione, and saw Harry Potter waiting impatiently with a baby in his arms. Later, Hermione would recall the rather humorous way the girl's eyes widened and glazed over, watching as Hermione followed Harry out, not taking her eyes off the Chosen One once.

"Honestly," she whispered to herself, rolling her eyes at the back of Harry's messy head.

The two turned the corner to face a hall filled with red-heads. Mr. Weasley was flayed out in the first chair closest to them, looking like he was about to fall asleep. Charlie couldn't seem to settle down enough to sit, so Tessa had taken his seat beside his dad, propping her head up sleepily on her fist. Ginny was sprawled out at her feet, watching Ron pace and George try to trip him up. Angelina was there as well, falling asleep against the wall, occasionally rousing to tell George to stop. Audrey was nowhere to be seen, but Percy was furthest away sitting comfortably on a couch, reading a rather thick tome.

"Were we the last ones to know about this?" Harry asked the crowd, gaining everyone's attention. Ginny smiled and opened her arms to receive Teddy, snuggling into his and dozing off a bit.

"Yes, we've all been here for four hours now." Angelina supplied helpfully, now purposely kicking at George to get him to quit bothering Ron.

"Why wouldn't you go home for a bit? Or grab lunch?" Hermione asked, taking a seat by George, hoping to help Angelina corral the twin in. "And where's Fred?"

"Ah, manning the shop. He lost the bet you see; he thought the baby was going to arrive last week, so automatically he lost. He'll close up in a bit though, not to worry." George reassured her and turned to try and poke at Ron again, but the boy had finally caught on and moved over to Percy. Now thoroughly bored, George turned back to Hermione.

"You didn't happen to bring Exploding Snap, 'Mione?" He asked politely, but pouted when she shook her head in the negative.

"I only brought a Teddy," George perked up once more.

"That's just as good, Teddy come to Uncle Georgie." He made a passing motion to Ginny, clasping his hands together childishly. Ginny rolled her eyes but passed her son, slumping onto Harry's shoulder to doze off again. Now wide awake, Teddy was in 'spotlight mode'. Harry had begun calling it that, after the many escapades of the very dramatic one year old. The kid could pull out the charm at will, and was especially good at wearing out his new grandmother, receiving more than his share of treats and cookies. His many aunts were more than happy to dole out the hugs and kisses for one of his smiles. And every uncle had their favourite game they played special with the young boy, broken down to drop what they were doing to appease him. George's favourite was "Rainbow Hair', in which he would hold Teddy up to something and make him stare at the horrid colour until the young boy would grin as his hair and eyebrows shifted. Like now, George was cackling, holding the baby up near Angelina to stare at the putrid green throw pillow next to her. The tot almost managed a smile as his hair slowing faded away from the soft brown and went the puke green. George was laughing at the new colour while Angelina glared at him.

"Alright little man, let's give you back to Auntie 'Mione before Auntie Angie tries to harm me." Hermione tucked the boy back into her arms, missing the soft look Angelina got on her face from watching Teddy.

Hermione bounced the boy up and down, kissing his cheeks on each down stroke. Teddy had yet to really smile _at_ anyone since arriving. He would giggle and smile at objects, or funny things the family transfigured for him, but no one had received a smile yet. But in that moment, once Ginny leaned over to lay her thigh to catch Teddy's toes with her mouth, his first happy smile was directed at Hermione.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Fred finally arrived at the hospital, and was directed to the maternity ward immediately and in rather an irritated matter. He figured his family was being their usual boisterous selves and went where directed without a saucy quip, leaving the staff with their wits about them. He didn't hurry, well aware Fleur could still be in labour, and wanted to have a moment to himself. The shop had been a tad bit too busy for only one of them to be there, but he didn't want to pull George away. His shoulder was beginning to ache from a rouge toy broomstick a kid had practically thrown at him. And he was stressed out from still keeping the confrontation with Tollins from his fiancée, and the whole 'found out I'm in love with her' bit. He felt like he hadn't talked to George in years from everything he was keeping to himself, and a headache was beginning to situate itself permanently between his eyes.

Taking a chance on the loud noises and laughter he heard, Fred took the left turn and found his family beginning to laugh at his fiancée and their nephew. Hermione and Ginny were just sitting up, looking shocked as hell, Hermione holding Teddy up in front of her.

Fred shook off his thoughts and announced himself to the excitable group, "What's going on here?" Hermione's head whipped around and she scrambled up, Teddy still clutched in her hands.

"Fred! Teddy smiled at me! I got him to smile at me!" She almost collided with him, causing Teddy to burst out another small smile and his infectious laugh. "See! Look at him!"

And curse Merlin's left bullock if his heart didn't skip and his stomach clench in absolute adoration towards this beautiful woman. Trying to distract his thoughts, Fred grinned down at her and took the smiling boy from her arms, hoisting him up to the top of his head to tickle him until he gave them another laugh.

"You charming thing, you know just how to work a room, don't you? Come here bud," Dropping the boy back into his arms, Teddy squealed in absolute delight, making a real grin finally cross Fred's lips. Hermione clutched at one of his arms, using it to anchor him down and keep Teddy at the same level as her.

"Merlin Fred, don't drop him." She fussed, keeping her eyes on the baby, checking his fingers and toes. Why, he had no idea.

"I won't drop him 'Mione." He walked back to his little sister, depositing her charge back into her lap. She and Harry took the next few minutes tickling and making faces at Teddy, eliciting numerous smiles and giggles from the baby. With a soft groan he had hoped wouldn't erupt, he sat down in one of the hard chairs, patting his lap with a wink at Hermione. She blushed prettily but obliged the request, placing herself delicately on his knee and leaning in to place her head by his neck. Once situated, and limbs were moved to lessen pressure, Hermione relaxed and asked how his day was.

"Not the best, but I lost fair and square, had to take it like a man. Until that kid hit me with the broom, and then I honestly thought about curling up like the cat and crying." He grimaced once more, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. Hermione did no such thing; leaning up to poke at the opposite shoulder she was laying on. Apparently he winced more than he'd have liked, gaining a frown from the woman.

"You're a wizard, Fredrick. There are simple ways to fix this." she prodded a little further along; finally hitting the worst spot he was sure would bruise horrifically by tomorrow. "Now that you've let it set I'm not so sure. Lay back a bit, relax please." Leaning into the back of the chair, Fred watched in more than a bit of confusion as her prods became more of a rub, digging her thumb deeper as she went in circles from the top of his shoulder and landed close to the center of his chest. He was melting slowly; he was pretty sure he was dead. At one point she poked too hard in too sensitive a spot, making him grunt in pain, and gain his twin's and mother's attention.

"All right there, Freddie?" George asked not too loudly, keeping their conversation somewhat private. Mrs. Weasley was still watching though, her frown become more concerned as Hermione continued to massage the sore muscle much more softly this time.

"Great Georgie, never better. But next time, you can take the shrapnel off a temper tantrum." George winced but nodded in agreement, turning back to continue talking with Angelina, now that he was assured his brother was okay. Mrs. Weasley still didn't say anything, but continued to watch.

"Not hurting you too much, am I?" Hermione asked after a few more moments, not taking her eyes off the spot she was tending to. Fred craned his neck to the side, realizing how sleepy this was making him, to look at her. She was frowning slightly, completely taken in by her project. He lifted a heavy hand, using the pad of his thumb to brush her hair away from her face, rubbing away the crease between her eyes.

"No love, it feels fantastic." A blush rushed up from her neck, and Fred had the sudden deep need to see just how far that blush went. Closing his eyes from the sight before he got carried away, Fred allowed his head to hit the back of the chair and loll over the end as Hermione finished up her impromptu massage. She finished with a warming charm and a whispered healing one, leaving his shoulder warm and relaxed. She waited patiently for him to lift his head, and once he did she placed a gentle kiss on his lips lingering a few minutes too long to be entirely proper. Before she could get too far away, he placed another quick peck to her red lips in thanks. Content now that she had helped, Hermione relaxed back into his body, taking up her earlier pose at his side. Fred sighed; rubbing her back unconsciously with the arm wrapped around her, and noticed his mother hadn't looked away quite yet. He looked over Hermione's head shyly, meeting his mother's eyes and becoming shocked to see her looking decidedly weepy. His dad was patting her hand but not watching, but his mum gave him a watery smile and mouthed something at him. She looked away with a happy smile, gazing at the door that would eventually lead her to her first blood grandchild.

The family settled down after a while of waiting, everyone becoming tired of waiting. Bill came out ten minutes later to say it wouldn't be too much longer now. Fred didn't mind too much, he was warm and relaxed, and very comfortable with Hermione. He still hadn't puzzled out what his mum had said to him earlier, but wasn't dwelling too heavily on it. An hour later, Fred was sure Hermione had dozed off, and thought it wouldn't be a horrible idea with the day he had. It couldn't have been long after he closed his eyes, but the delivery room door opened again, and a very happy Bill was standing looking at his family.

"It's a girl."

The room erupted in congratulations and cheers, and Fred could barely hear the light, lovely laughter of his sister-in-law in the other room. Mrs. Weasley bustled to the door, allowed in first with Mr. Weasley close behind. Bill told everyone else they would have to take turns, as Fleur was tired, and the room was quite small. Fred woke Hermione as Mrs. Weasley came back out, crying into her husband's shoulder. As he finally roused Hermione, another person came around the corner. It was Fleur's younger sister, Gabrielle, and she looked quite worried.

"Iz she 'ere? Bill only jest sent a Patronus." She had a very thick accent, still living in France with her parents. Mrs. Weasley nodded and filled the girl in quickly. Charlie was elected to go next, and Tessa told Gabrielle to go with him.

"I don't need to see before the rest of you. I can wait." The young Vella nodded graciously and went in with Charlie and Percy. The next group was Harry, Ginny, Teddy, and Tessa, after she was forced to go in before the twins. Lastly, Fred, George, Angelina, and Hermione went in.

"Last ones love, I promise." Fleur whispered to the small bundle in her arms, smiling gently at the girls and twins as they stood around the bed. The small baby was revealed to the last family members, making all of them make different noises at the beautiful girl. She took after her mother, thank Merlin, with a pointed heart shaped face, and tiny nose. Her eyes were still shut of course, but he was willing to bet they would be as bright a blue as both parents. Her hair was longer than he'd have thought, a wispy white blonde, making the whole picture look like she was a dainty doll.

"What's her name?" Angelina asked, poking a finger in to drag the blanket further from her face. Fleur smiled gently, helping to fix the swaddling blanket.

"Victorie Gabrielle Weasley. It's French for 'victory'. We thought it fitting, considering her birthday." Bill smiled gently, his eyes not moving from his new family. Fred frowned, looking down at Hermione tucked into his side.

"It's May second, Fred. It's been a year since the battle."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The next morning, Fred woke feeling completely rested and cozy in his bed. His window was open, something he normally didn't do, bringing in the noisy din of morning shoppers. Luckily, he and George usually didn't open the store on Sundays, leaving him with a delightful break before the work week started. Still, it had to be close to ten, he should probably do something productive today. Rolling over, Fred ran into a lump in his bed, hindering any further movements. His arm was stuck underneath it, wedged completely against the wall and it. Allowing his head to catch up with his eyes, Fred moved the quilt down with his free hand, revealing a rather bushy head of hair peeking out. Relieved, Fred sunk back into his pillow, trying to make a plan of action now that he recalled Hermione lying in bed with him.

After Victorie's birth, the Weasley family had gone to their respective homes, as it was close to half past midnight. Hermione had been practically dragged along by Fred, falling asleep standing up. Refusing to send her home so vulnerable, Fred had Apparated them both to the flat above the shop and put her straight to bed.

During his inner musings, the-lump-that-was-Hermione, stirred and made a soft grumbling noise. While he watched, the girl rolled over, glaring into the lightened room, and swatting at her fluffed hair. It was too adorable for words, and made those ruddy butterflies swoop in his stomach once again.

"Well good morning, lovely. Not a fan of the light I see," he teased her mercilessly, leaning down to drop a kiss on her scowling lips. The downturn of her lips smoothed out, revealing a lovely, but maybe slightly startled, smile from her.

"Morning; I'm getting a bit too used to this I think. You'll have to start kicking me out before you get sick of me." Hermione couldn't stop smiling, watching the morning light hit Fred straight in the face, lighting up every single freckle he had.

"Never," Hermione received another wonderful morning kiss; rousing her completely from the tired state she'd begun in.

"Did George get in last night? I don't remember much after getting here."

Fred shook his head, rolling his eyes for her to see, "No, my dear brother seemed to enjoy our idea, and left with the illustrious Miss Johnson." Hermione nodded, like she had been expecting this. The two stayed in a comfortable silence, and Fred tried very hard not to complain of the pins and needles rushing through his arm.

"Well, I should start up breakfast then, hopefully before George shows up. I don't want to try and handle the task of feeding two Weasley boys." Hermione unrolled herself from the blanket cocoon she'd created, releasing Fred. Not realizing they had been curled together in the blanket, Fred immediately missed the body heat she had created, and snatched her back to him.

"No moving, too comfy." He grumbled into her neck, nuzzling as close as possible, and throwing an arm and a leg over top of her to keep her anchored. Giggling at his antics, Hermione rolled back to face him, giving his nose a kiss.

"You'd rather lay here all day than have me make food for you?" He pretended to think on it, but grumbled again, pushing his nose as close to her scent as possible. "Well, I'm hungry Mr. Weasley, and I'm expecting pancakes today." Fred pushed her back into the fluff of sheets and quilts, popping up out of the bed himself.

"Then pancakes you shall have, Miss Granger. Fair warning; George doesn't leave me in the kitchen alone for good reason." He winked and whisked his self away, disappearing for only a moment before Hermione came rushing out as soon as possible, tying her pants up as she stumbled along.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"Merlin those were good. Why'd you think to put bananas and blueberries in them?" Fred groaned from his place on the couch, laid flat out and holding his extended belly. Hermione smiled down at him as she joined him, laying herself out alongside him.

"My mum used to make them like that for dad on Sundays when he didn't have to work." She explained and snuggled a bit under his arm, not wanting to admit to herself that she wanted a snuggle. They stayed in a bit of silence until Hermione yawned and rubbed at her eyes. "I'm _still _exhausted."

Fred looked down at her smiling, "Yeah, but gaining a niece was worth it, right?" Hermione grinned at that, getting excited about having so many nieces and nephews to look forward to.

"Oh she was absolutely gorgeous, and so perfect. Her little nose and it's clear she's Veela, and her fairy white hair. Fred, I call dibbs on holding her first between us! We'll get to see her little toes, and her fingers, oh, I haven't held a baby in a really long time." She trailed off, looking down at her hands to fiddle with the hem of his vest. She missed his smirk at her and they went silent again, making Fred sleepy under the warmth.

"Freddie?" his eyes snapped open at the small voice he'd never from her before, whipping his head down to check what was wrong.

"What? 'Mione?" He struggled to flip around in his spot, but the cushions seemed to grow arms and suck him in. Once he was finally facing her, he saw she was watching him in partial amusement, and the most adorable pout he'd ever witnessed. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

"I want a baby." She said immediately, watching his face for a reaction, and pouting her lip out.

"Woman, don't get ahead of yourself. One thing at a time; marriage first, then baby."

Hermione slapped at his shoulder with a scoff, "Don't overreact, I was just hoping you'd want to talk about it with me. About starting our family?" She watched him relax back into the couch, waving for her to continue.

"When would you want to have one? We don't have too much time because of the law, but I don't want to scare you off."

It was Fred's turn to scoff, "You're the one that has to grow a person inside you, and I think you'd be the best judge, yeah?"

"Thanks," she rolled her eyes but continued, "I was just meant if you'd be ready to have someone else in our lives so soon after we get to be together."She puttered out into uncertainty.

"'Mione," he groaned, flipping to lay over her, making her groan from him pushing on her pancake filled belly. He apologized with a small smirk, and peppered small kisses over her face. She smiled and waited for him to finish. "I know this law wasn't something we saw coming, and being paired together was the last thing you expected, but I couldn't be happier. I wasn't expecting much from this, and honestly would have been content with being friends. But I'm not lying when I say I've always wanted a family, and having one with you will only make it that much better."

"Really? You wanted a family, even if we had stayed friends?"

"Aren't we friends now?" he teased.

"Yes, but now were, well, more I think."Hermione said uncertainly, hoping he wouldn't shoot her down too hard.

"Most definitely more, Miss Granger, even if we don't have a word for it yet." She thought she was going cross eyed from staring into his eyes so long, but couldn't look away. Hermione was very aware what they were both thinking now, but wasn't ready to say that yet.

"Well Mr. Weasley," Hermione pulled back to look at him properly, forcing him to lift up as well, "there's a very important question I must ask you." She said with playful seriousness.

Fred shifted to look away as if in deep thought, "Yes, I do believe the Quibbler's last edition was its best yet."

"No you goof; I had a question in mind." She laughed with him, "Boy or girl?"

He felt ridiculous right then, sharing a stupid grin with his fiancée over a baby that didn't exist yet. But she looked so happy in that moment, waiting for him to answer her.

"You first,"

"Nice try,"

"Fine," he really did think on it this time, "not that we really get to _choose, _but I think I'd want a girl."

Hermione smile seemed to grow, "Okay, why, tell me why."

Fred smiled at her excitement, and moved to lie beside her once more to get comfortable, "All right, mostly it has to do with the whole six brothers, and one sister." She nodded in understanding and had him continue. "And because I remember helping mum with Ginny while she grew up."

"That's really sweet Fred," Hermione sighed, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, but," he leaned down to whisper, like this next idea was a secret, "my favourite idea, about having a baby girl with you? She'd look like you; lovely and absolutely gorgeous." She felt her eyes go wide but felt a rush of affection for him. She gave him a few of her own kisses, peppering them up and down his jaw and catching his ear once or twice. They eventually relaxed again, waiting for their stomachs to stop complaining about the fluffy pastries.

"Oh Merlin, it'll have red curly hair. Oh, the poor thing." Fred burst out laughing, hugging her to his side. "I'm going to make tea, would you like some?" She sighed, lifting herself up off the couch and Fred, making her way to kitchen. She heard a mumble from him that sounded vaguely confirmative. Moving around the kitchenette, she flicked her wand at the kettle to warm it up. After fixing up the two mugs, Hermione relaxed against the island counter to wait for the water. Glancing around the kitchen she noticed the Daily Prophet rolled up on the windowsill. With nothing else to do but wait, she grabbed the newspaper and cracked it open.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"Fred!"

He bolted up once more, waiting to see her around the corner. The Daily Prophet was the first thing he saw, and the fiery witch behind it had him instantly on edge.

"What? What, what, what?" He asked and waited, her huffs getting louder as she read on, still not looking at him. Eventually she began to read aloud from the beginning of the article.

"'_Fred Weasley, co-owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, has finally answered the Wizarding World's prayers! The lovely Hermione Granger, of the Golden Trio, has been paired with the aforementioned wizard. In an exclusive interview, Mr. Weasley couldn't wait to inform us of their match, stating he was sick of all the guessing. The interview confirmed their secret affair, and the steps they went through to give Granger special treatment.' _Fredrick Gideon Weasley, you had better explain this. Right. Now!"

Fred was shocked, staring up at his fiancée, who looked ready to hex him out of the apartment. His mouth couldn't do much more than gape and he knew he looked like a fish. Hermione didn't stop glaring but began to read off the paper again, growing more agitated.

"Here's the best bit, _'Scorned from her former trysts with friend and hero, Harry Potter, Granger's actions seem desperate and has formed a large fan base for Mr. Weasley. A few of his fans stepped forward to give their thoughts on Granger's actions and the consequences for Weasley.'_" Hermione dropped the paper down to the table. Fred couldn't tell how she was feeling now; her face had dropped into an expressionless mask.

"Mione, you have to believe me, I didn't say anything like that!"

"Really? You didn't do an interview with," she snatched the paper up once more, checking something over before crunching it up in her fist, "Rudker Tollins?"

Fred paused, unsure how to go about this, "Not, technically. It wasn't an interview, 'Mione! He's the bloody prick that's been writing that article in Witch Weekly. Merlin, he was a smug bastard,"

"Fredrick!"

"Sorry love, but if you'd seen him you'd have yelled at him too."

Hermione was beginning to fidget with her fingers, pulling at the edge of her skirt, "You yelled at him? Was this in Diagon Alley?"

"Well no, it was in the shop, but I-"

"You yelled at someone in the shop? Fred, what were you thinking! You could have gotten some serious backlash; it could have hurt your business." Fred was getting more frustrated with this as Hermione became less susceptible to reason.

"Hermione, I was getting him to leave you alone! What else was I supposed to do?" The fact that his voice had risen didn't escape him, but he was too far gone to do anything about it.

"Leave it alone, or complain to the paper and have them deal with Tollins. Don't go yelling at people in public, and certainly don't keep it from me!" She finished in a shriek and tossed the Daily Prophet at him, her hair in a tizzy, and her arms around herself as she dashed out of the flat. Fred stood where he was in front of his couch, staring at the paper at his feet as he listened to the front door slam behind Hermione. His whole body relaxed, the feeling of suppressed anger disappearing and a weird kind of pain hitting him in the chest.

"Bloody hell Fred, what did you do?" He whispered to himself and the empty room, running a hand through his hair in agitation and flopping onto the cold couch.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Guys, that was huge! It's literally 13 pages, two times as long as all the others so far! This will be the last one for a bit, I'm going camping tomorrow and won't really be back for two weeks.**

**Cheers!**

**Thanks, AJ **


	16. Forgiveness and Glasses

**Okay, so not as good a turnout on that last chapter. I was kind of hoping to get a few more reviews for that one, I haven't gotten many.**

**I realize it has been more than a month now, but between weeks of work with no break, receiving a surprise new room (guys I have a barn door closet!) and being sick, I haven't had much time for writing. I did warn you I wouldn't always be updating at a steady pace, especially being twenty and having to work constantly.**

**Anyway, on with the show, yeah?**

**Warning, for any children reading this, rating goes up a bit here. Nothing graphic, just…not childproof.**

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

Hermione hadn't seen Fred in a week. The first three days, she had refused any type of contact with him, using Mrs. Weasley's hospitality to stay at the Burrow to avoid the flat. She would go to visit Ginny and Teddy during the day, practically kicking Harry and Ron out of the house to leave her and Ginny free to talk while they played around with Teddy. The fourth day, she stopped running around, giving him a too subtle chance to come and apologize. By supper time with no sign of Fred, she ate Mrs. Weasley's lovely food somberly, and ran to Ginny's side as soon as she finished, crying harder than she'd ever done before.

'Hermione, he's a Weasley. You should have enough experience with us by now; we're stubborn.' Ginny had tucked her in, slipping in next to her until Hermione finally fell asleep with tears tracks down her cheeks. The next day, she hadn't left the Burrow at all, helping Mrs. Weasley, or just reading outside. Ginny had come over instead to keep her company and give her mother time with the baby. Once supper rolled around, Ginny decided to Floo call Harry over, bringing him and Ron over to eat with them. Half way through their dinner, Percy arrived with Mr. Weasley, both late home from the Ministry.

'Sorry about this mum, but Audrey sent an owl letting me know her sister was having her over for supper.' Molly had nodded and set out an extra place for her son. Hermione continued her discussion with Ginny until another Weasley arrived to interrupt. George turned the corner, looking rather ruffled in his work robes, and a stray feather sticking out of his hair.

'Don't mind if I join, mum? Fred's handling a, err, mess of sorts in the flat.' Mrs. Weasley once again nodded and waved her next son over to sit with them. Hermione watched George sit down with an exhausted huff just next to her, masking his yawn behind a bottle of Butterbeer Percy slid over to him. Hermione picked the feather out from behind his ear, gaining an abashed grin from him in thanks.

'How'd you get a chicken in the flat?' She asked him and honest to Merlin, Hermione had never seen George look so nervous.

'We don't, Fred's just, you know, at home.' He whispered out, scratching his neck in the same nervous gesture Fred did. She could still feel that horrible heavy feeling in her chest from that moment. After dinner had finished up, Ginny had immediately invited Hermione over for a 'girl's night' to discreetly allow her privacy again. This time she cried again, but wouldn't let Ginny leave Harry alone for a second time.

The next two nights were her walking not so discreetly down Diagon Alley, jumping in at random to different shops, including a few of the newer small kiosks out now after the War. She was out for close to two hours, jumping back and forth, not getting too close to the shop before moving into a different shop. By the end of the second day, Hermione was physically and mentally exhausted from her excursion, and obviously completely wrong about her and Fred's relationship. She had felt sure he would have tried to walk past her at least, giving her a chance to say something. But now, the most she'd seen of him was George showing up at dinner, and that barely made sense.

Day seven had her feeling the lowest she'd felt since first year at Hogwarts. She ignored Ginny's invitation to spend the day with her and Teddy; Hermione had no interest in human contact now. Her head was filled with miserable thoughts of the last month with Fred, where she thought everything had been going great, but she was apparently still a too brainy, bushy haired girl. Her brain had glossed over the mandatory aspect of their relationship, and possibly even their friendship, for the chance to believe he would actually like her. She had officially regressed to her childhood coping methods, using her time at the Burrow now to read every minute of the day. It was past noon at least, the sun straight up in the sky, beating down on the small pond behind the Burrow's garden; creating a lovely shaded nook for Hermione to read under and stay cool. Eventually though, she knew a Weasley would interrupt her moping, she just hadn't expected this particular one.

"Hey 'Mione," Ron greeted once he was a few feet away, though the sound of his dragging feet had given him away yards before he'd reached her. Hermione glanced up from her novel to greet her friend, immediately sticking her nose straight into the spine once more, "What'cha reading?"

"A book," she returned unhelpfully, keeping her tired eyes glued to the word '_against_', unable to focus enough and continue with Ron looming over top her.

"A good book?"

Hermione sighed and dropped the hard bound copy to her lap, slumping down to lie against her chosen tree, "Not particularly, no, it's not." Ron didn't make any funny or rude comments, besides the incredulous raise of his brows. He took the extra few steps to stand right next to her, and offered her a hand up. The disdainful sort of glance she gave it didn't surprise him, but the offhanded way she used it to pull herself up did. Hermione was not her usual spunky self, and it had officially concerned everyone.

"Where are we going exactly?" She asked him, not mentioning the oddness of him acting so courtly towards her; especially the vice grip he had on her hand.

"Romilda mentioned none of us have gone to reserve a Ministry official for the weddings, so Ginny thought it might be a good idea for us all to go together. We all have to do it eventually, right?" She wasn't sure if he was asking her or not, so she stuck to a nonchalant nod, not saying anything further as they lumbered through the grass, hand in hand. Halfway back, Ron tucked her hand into his elbow to stick his own hands in his trouser pockets. Hermione found this a bit odd at first; they had never done this before. A few more careful steps through the tall grass had Hermione tearing up with overflowing pride and love for her friend after a thought crossed her mind. Keeping her hand on his arm was a simple way for him to assume a leading role, while still keeping contact with her so she wouldn't stumble. A motion one would assume to lead the blind. Too emotional to say more of the matter, Hermione kept silent as they finally entered the Burrow, Ron giving her a quick grin before sitting at the kitchen table where Romilda was nursing a cuppa.

Hermione moved silently through the room, landing on the patchwork couch with a quilt lain over her legs. Perhaps they really had grown up.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Now she was furious. Furious and exhausted. Their visit to the Ministry had gone downhill as soon as the first couple, Harry and Ginny, went to sign the papers for their official. The only way to properly get a Ministry official was to have both participants' magical signatures. Meaning, the lonely Hermione Granger couldn't sign a stupid piece of paper without her currently AWOL fiancé.

"Think of it this way 'Mione, now Fred will have to talk to you because the law said so!" Harry quipped good naturedly, but received scathing glares from his own fiancée and Hermione. Even Romilda reached out like she was going to smack him, but pulled back before she began groping the air to reach his arm.

"Yes, thank you Harry." He had the mind to grin; realizing his folly after the patronizing voice he'd heard for eight years chastised him sharply. "I suppose I'll head over to the shop right now, and get the whole thing over with. Even if I need to get George to forge the signature." Hermione grumbled and stomped off, leaving the other four in the center of Diagon Alley. Once she was more out of the way of the rush of people Hermione Apparated to the front door of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The shop was still too busy for a week day during school, but most of the wizarding world seemed to have kept their children back for an extra year. Hermione couldn't blame them; if her parents had the choice, they would have done the same thing for her. _Hermione, focus. One problem at a time. _

Pushing open the bright orange door was a difficult process, only furthering the frustration boiling inside her. Kids and parents were so crowded inside, they were pushing against the door; sighing, Hermione waved her hand over the hinges, causing the door to readjust and swing out rather than in. A few small boys startled but sheepishly let Hermione pass, squeezing in between their parents legs to give her space. Another five minutes were wasted on her way up to the front desk, desperately trying to keep her emotions bottled up with so many people pushing against her and yelling throughout the joke shop. Finally, a familiar face emerged from the crowd, splitting the crowd as she came through with a big pile of active Whizbangers, sparking and reaching out to shock people as Verity passed them.

"'Lo, Hermione! Whatcha doing here?" The lovely shop girl didn't wait for an answer, just handed off a small pile of Whizbangers and began to lead Hermione up to the front. At the tills, George was handing off random bits and pieces to customers, telling them it was some kind of promotion, but Hermione knew better at this point and figured it was an experiment gone wrong, being passed off as candy.

"I'm making a sign, George." Hermione interrupted him, causing the man to startle and drop his extended candy. It made a small black mushroom cloud of something when it made contact with the ground, and a few of the mothers standing at the front of the line immediately turned their children away.

"Damn," George mumbled, but turned to Hermione with a confused grin, more than an upset glare, "a sign for what?"

"The front window; it'll read 'Caution, undiscovered, unknown, untested candy may be handed out at any time. Please be advised to watch your children, or their teeth will explode from their heads." George laughed loudly at her as she finished, mouthing along after, and nodding like it was a great idea.

"Brilliant, I look forward to seeing it."

Hermione rolled her eyes in bemusement, and went behind the cash counter to further distance herself from the pressing crowd. It was still really loud, but Hermione felt like she could breathe again, and did so in one big gulp. George puttered around her earnestly, not liking how pale the younger girl was looking. Going immediately into big brother mode, George slung his arm around her shoulders, leaning in to further block out the disturbances and noise of his shop.

"Head bothering you, Granger?"

"How could you know that?"

"I helped raise Ginny. There were a few too many migraines and cramps I had to deal with. 'S why I came up with the Wonder Witch products. Fred is rubbish at that, so good luck to you." George giggled, but Hermione tensed up before forcing a laugh out for him. "He's in the back, finishing the inventory. I'll make sure no one bothers you." George whispered into her hair as he gave her one last squeeze and left her alone. Hermione didn't stay long, hopping off the counter and heading through the store once more, reaching the ornate door of the twins' back room. She'd only been in here a few times now, but she'd never felt so wary about stepping in. This whole shop had an open door policy aura that made everyone feel welcome and excited to come in. But now, dread filled her and a nervousness she'd never felt around Fred before.

"Hermione don't be stupid," she chastised herself for thinking so much and pushed open the door. Unlike many things the Weasley's owned, the shop was always in good working order, including the squeak-less doors. Her entry was so silent, the slouched over figure seated behind the wooden muggle desk didn't move or make any mention of her. Hermione took a moment, watching Fred scribble something out then scratch the back of his neck before crossing the previous line out and writing another down. He was adorable, and she missed him.

Reaching out to place her knuckles on the door frame, she rapped twice, causing the Weasley to startle and look up at her in surprise.

"Homework?" she asked with a tiny grin, surprised he only grunted in answer. His eyes were tired, so she took his answer as a sign of his weary state and not anger towards her.

"If I say yes, will you feel obligated to help me? I may fail the test if you don't." The sarcasm wasn't as strong as she was expecting; the normal happy Fred showing his face.

"Well, how could I let my favourite student fail? Give it here," she teased, stepping up to the desk, taking a seat on the corner across from him, collecting the archives into her lap. Fred didn't say a word, watching as she tucked her hair, and dipped his frayed quill into the red ink to make corrections to his ledger.

"Hello," he finally said, looking up at her now from his seat next to her.

Hermione felt her cheeks blush at the sudden attention she was receiving, but smiled and replied, "Hello," and took a leap of faith and leaned in, lightly grazing his cheek with her lips.

"Thanks for helping. My head was beginning to feel like Hagrid had stepped on it." Fred sighed a bit happily, leaning into her side, and resting his chin on her leg.

"How long have you been doing this that you gave yourself a headache?" She asked curiously, feeling rather protective of this giant goof.

"Not that long, but George broke my glasses last week, and I forgot the spell Harry always uses."

"You wear glasses?" the ledger was completely forgotten in exchange for staring at Fred incredulously, "how long have you had glasses?" it was now Fred's turn to blush, rubbing his neck as an excuse to look at the desk in embarrassment.

"Just about a year now; I only use them to read, otherwise George calls me 'the Perfect Prefect Percy Posse'. Bit of a mouthful, but he gets a right laugh out of it." The nervous chuckle was silenced by Hermione silently Accio-ing the glasses from the room, figuring they would be stashed in here, and fixing them with a quick 'Oculus Reparo'. Not saying a word, Hermione slipped the glasses on over the bridge of his nose, brushing back the scruff of hair blocking his face. The effect was instant; that warm butterfly effect worming its way through her body, rushing pleasantly till it reached her toes.

"There," was all she whispered, barely making a sound. Fred couldn't stop watching her, transfixed by her eyes turning darker.

The moment was broken by a familiar twist of Fred's lips, and a comment that made her scoff, "If I'd've known glasses would have gotten you off, I would have used them on you much earlier."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, tracing his ear and keeping her eyes fixated on her movements.

"For not mentioning your glasses fetish? I must say, I am pleasantly surprised."

"No, I'm just, really sorry."

They stayed silent together, Fred realizing now was not the time for jokes. Neither said anything, but both felt immensely better.

"Me too, but I'm also very glad we got our first fight out of the way. Truce?" He smirked and stuck out his hand for a handshake, taking hers and pumping their arms a few times.

"I suppose so, if it lets me kiss you now." She grinned happily, leaning down to cup his face in both her hands tenderly, pecking at his lips until he caught her bottom lip between his. In seconds, Fred had pushed the ledgers off Hermione's lap, instead collecting her onto his to pull her even closer. Eventually, his glasses were pushed up to the top of his head and were threatening to tip onto the floor. Hermione took a moment to slide them off and popped them over her shoulder onto the desk.

"Thanks, I was going a bit crossed eyed, I think."

"Still have a headache then?" Hermione cooed into his neck, slipping her hand up into his hair, and tugging lightly to gain his attention. Whimpering under her ministrations, but trying to hide it, Fred shifted around, ending up with Hermione's legs wrapped around his waist.

"Bloody hell," he mumbled to the ceiling, feeling more than lightheaded now, "bit of a tinge, I suppose."

"Well," she grinned with a distinctly feline manner, "I know for a fact being in a dark room lessens the pressure behind your eyes, especially after _not_ wearing your," she pushed up further to his chest, breathing heavily onto his neck, "glasses."

"Merlin help me," Fred groaned, picking the small woman up as he stood, keeping one arm under her, feeling a moan coming on as he shifted to grab her bum. Hermione kept her legs wrapped around him, her hands busy distracting him to no end, and her stomach swooping in delight and lust, past the point of stopping. Fred made a step to move them away from the desk, most likely to Apparate, but Hermione pulled away to whisper something once more into his ear, nipping at the shell.

He barely made sense anymore, but most of it sounded like, "Shite, bloody buggering, Merlin, I've gone to heaven."

Before Apparating up to the flat, Fred grabbed the glasses off the desk for Hermione, who snatched them with a greedy grin, bearing down on his neck as they spun out.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Done for now! Thanks to everyone still reading, and sticking with me!**

**AJ**


	17. A Morning After

**Yeah, long chapter! I had been thinking about showing off the other chapter 16 I had written, but realized it would give away the whole Tollins thing. Mwahaha! So you'll all have to wait, my bad.**

**Thank to Onyx Obsidian, Honestly don't you to read, ender19, TheFantasyTrain, jperks, and the two anonymous reviewers. Thanks for saying such nice things!**

**Once again, not childproof, but I'm not switching the rating. **

***.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.**

This room was much too dark to be hers. Hermione tried to peer around the room with only one eye half cracked open, to avoid the strip of sun bolted across the carpet. There was one dresser opened with different articles clothing strewn around and over it, but not in the actual drawers. A simple chair, obviously borrowed from somewhere as it was a dull brown color, had a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes robe over the top of it. One more look around, and Hermione spotted the magenta wall, realizing instantly where she was, and blushing as she remembered.

The snoring ginger next to her rolled over, snuggling into her side and burrowing his frozen nose into the back of her neck, mumbling a wordless morning greeting.

"Good morning, then." Hermione says over her shoulder, unable to shift around to see his face. She still hadn't decided what time it was, if trying to wake Fred up was necessary at this point. Both twins were well known for the amount of sleep they required, most likely to compensate for their overall hyper way of life. She also didn't want to be too loud; otherwise George may end up barging into his brother's room to take the mickey out of both of them. After all, Hermione had quite literally stolen Fred to go for shag, and left George to fend for himself in the store.

"Not yet, still asleep," Fred mumbled thickly, still groggy and far too warm to try and wake this early. Hermione scoffed through her nose, looking around for a way to find the time. Her wand was nearest, so she swished it lazily at the window, parting the curtain back to peer outside. The sun outside was a quarter away from being full.

"It's at least 8:30 Fred, wake up." Hermione whispered, though she realized that wouldn't wake a sleeping Weasley. Still acting rather catatonic, Fred stayed at her side; his arm hugging her like it had all night. The snoring hadn't returned, so she knew he wasn't in a deep sleep. Flipping her body around to face him, Hermione stared at Fred's face, watching for any ticks that would give away a fake slumber. Nothing happened, so she began to poke his cheek, like a child would to their parents.

"Do that again, and I'll bite it off." A growl rumbled from his chest into hers, making a delightful shiver run through her.

"Open your eyes and neither of us get hurt." Hermione threatened with an added kiss to the poked at cheek in apology. Fred grumbled and groaned as he rolled around, too stubborn to do much else but complain of the early wakeup. "Stop complaining, you'll have to get used to it eventually. I usually don't sleep this late."

Fred's eyes popped open in horror, looking down at the small witch in bewilderment, "_Before _eight? You may find yourself on the couch many a night, my love."

"Some of us get more than one thing done in a day, Fred."

"Well, you can continue with that love, I'll be here if you need me." he rolled over and shoved his head underneath his pillow. Hermione sighed and fell back onto her pillow, playing idly with the fraying edge of his pillowcase.

"I must say, this is the strangest morning after conversation I've ever heard of."

"Shit," Fred popped his head back up, his bleary eyes finally clearing up, "I thought it was just a randy dream."

"How does that explain why I'm half naked in your bed?" Hermione hid her grin, happy he was really awake now. Fred took a moment to look her up and down, though his sheets were covering most of her. His eyes went a little wide once he looked back up to her face.

"Err- you're getting really good at Legilimency?"

She grinned at his still obvious confusion, "Could be, but the better answer is I'm actually here because I _really did_ pull you away from work for a shag."

"But a very _good_ shag," Fred's grin became lecherous, and he climbed up from his laying position to grab Hermione's hip, dragging her down off her pillow. Then she received her morning kiss she'd been waiting for.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Another hour later, Fred and Hermione emerged from the bedroom, Hermione freshly showered and rosy cheeked, while Fred still moved slowly and collapsed onto one of the counter chairs beside his twin.

"Mooorning," George chirped from his seat at the island, sipping from a large mug. Hermione copied his greeting, pulling down a pan to start breakfast for the three of them.

"Is Angelina going to join us, George?" Hermione asked politely, opening the smelly fridge to retrieve eggs.

"Nope, apparently I'm being pulled into wedding shopping with her and her mum, though I reckon I'll be sent into the corner for saying the wrong thing." George sighed, and turned his head towards his twin at Fred's understanding grunt. "And what's wrong with you this morning? Cat got your tongue?"

"Something like that," Fred mumbled, and waved his wand at the ready kettle, having it pour him a cuppa to match George's. George looked over at Hermione who hadn't stopped making up breakfast for them, and back to Fred who was now dragging his coffee down like he was dying of thirst.

"Are you wearing your glasses?" George finally asked. Fred gave George a you-just-dribbled-on-your-shirt look in return.

"No, these things on my face are actually small pixies that have taken a liking to the way my face smells, and have decided to become a part of me now. Of _course_ I'm wearing my glasses."

George screwed his nose up in distaste of the sarcasm, "You never wear them, 'cause you know I'll make fun of you. So why are you-," He paused, sneaking another look at Hermione, "unless, the 'cat'?"

Fred tapped his nose with a wink, and went back to drinking. "Fred, where's the cheese? I can't find anything in this rotten fridge." Hermione asked with her head stuck into said fridge, hesitating to stick her hands in too far. George continued to stare at her, trying really hard not to imagine her seducing his twin brother, or being sexy in general.

"It's on the door, love." Fred answered immediately, still sipping his coffee. Hermione grabbed the chunk of cheese and walked around the boys, leaving a sweet kiss on Fred's cheek. George gagged when Fred twisted around, leaving a kiss on her cheek in turn, and her shoulder as she walked back to the stove.

"Okay, I'm leaving. You two are driving me nuts." George threw his mug into the sink and went to the Floo, disappearing in the next second. Hermione went to sit on George's vacated seat, smirking, far too proud with herself.

"Yes congrats, you managed to scare your brother-in-law away, now come here." Fred rolled his eyes, opening his one arm to gather her up on his lap.

Hermione settled down, summoning a cuppa over to enjoy the morning alone with Fred. "Not my in-law yet, but yes, I'm quite proud to be able to scare a Weasley twin."

"Oh don't worry, love," Fred mumbled into his mug, "you readily scare both of us."

"Good," she grinned a grin he thought impossible for the bookish girl, and continued kissing her fiancé's jaw.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Three hours later, after spending a leisurely morning together to continue their making up, Hermione finally pushed Fred to get dressed for their day at the Burrow.

"It's half past already Fred; I wanted to help Molly with lunch today." Hermione moaned and groaned, trying desperately to get him to at least run through the shower.

"Why today of all days? She never lets you help anyway." Leaning back into her pushing hands unhelpfully, Fred ended up on his backside when Hermione stepped away from supporting his weight. "Oi!"

"Because today is the first day I'll be mooching food off her, and not be depressed the whole time." She said factually, not sorry at all that he'd fallen.

Fred scrunched his nose up at her, holding his hand up into the air for assistance, "Why were you so moody?"

"_Because Fredrick_, I hadn't seen you in a week, and thought you were too mad at me to speak." Hermione huffed, grabbing his hand with the intention to hoist him up from the ground. Instead, Fred grabbed her wrist and pulled, having her land over him.

"I still can't decide if I enjoy the full name thing, or fear it. And, _Hermione_, I wasn't ignoring you. I had been waiting for you to come and fetch _me_ from the doghouse, love."

Hermione lay there thinking it all over before coming to a conclusion for their predicament they'd found for themselves. "All right, new rule. When we fight, because we will, there has to be contact of some sort between us after a row, so we don't misunderstand one another again. I don't want you to disappear every time I get frustrated."

Fred nodded in agreement, "Does angry sex count as contact?" wiggling his eyebrows at him as she snorted.

"Fred!" Hermione smacked his shoulder roughly, fighting valiantly to hide a giggle, "I'm trying to be serious."

"Me too love, just testing the waters here." his grin was cheeky, knowing full well what he was doing.

"We will cross that bridge when we reach it. Now go get changed, it's almost eleven now."

"But it's so nice here, we can stay home today, relax, take a nap," The suggestive tone in his voice made Hermione roll her eyes, but allowed him to press kisses up her neck.

"Or have free food, visit with family, and have the evening to ourselves." Fred pulled away at her suggestion, nodded and pushed her off.

"Let's go Granger, or we might miss mum's homemade pumpkin pasties."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

They weren't the last ones at the Burrow once they finally arrived. George and Angelina were just leaving for the planned wedding shopping with Angelina's mother, leaving Harry, Ginny, Ron, Romilda, and Tessa in the sitting area. Hermione went immediately to sit between Romilda and Tessa,forgetting about trying to help Mrts. Weasley, asking Romilda something in greeting. Fred couldn't make out what, but Romilda's complexion went a bit red as she stroked her fingers gently through her own hair. Leaving the girls to themselves, Fred flopped onto the couch with Harry, his legs landing somewhere over the back and the rest of his body sprawled across Harry. Once he had landed, Fred looked up into Harry's face with a come-hither grin.

"Morning Gorgeous, come here often?" Harry wrinkled his nose like he had smelt something gross.

"Only for your sister, love." Fred guffawed at Potter's answer, rolling over to somehow land on the floor as well as keep his legs over the back of the couch.

"I didn't want to know that, Potter." Harry snorted, but relaxed back into the couch now that he didn't have a giant redhead on his lap. Without warning, Fred suddenly had a face full of tiny hands and bright blue hair. It took some serious acrobatics, but eventually, Fred moved his torso around to grab the baby, hoisting the kid upside down over his own red hair.

"Well good morning young man, might I ask just what you intend to do with my hair?" Fred grinned at the little boy's giggles, as he waved his hands around in the air over his head. Teddy's laughs hadn't really stopped since Victorie had been born, and he found his uncles his greatest source of entertainment.

Apart from nonsensical cooing, Teddy didn't give an answer, but Fred took it as it was, "Oh is that all? Well, carry on then." Lowering the boy down, he allowed Teddy to grab a fistful of his own red hair, watching as the blue hair shifted, and his own dark red spreading like a wild fire across the boy's head.

"Very handsome, Teddy." Ginny's voice came from somewhere behind Teddy, but as the baby was covering his face and therefore his view above him, Fred couldn't see where his sister was. Teddy didn't really pay attention to what Gin had said, besides an extra laugh for her.

Fred took it upon himself to answer for the boy, "A lovely lady just complimented you Teddy boy, you're supposed to say, 'Thank you, Mummy. You look very beautiful too.'" Teddy hilariously looked at his uncle with the cutest look of confusion, but gave Ginny puppy eyes in the next second, making his little sister melt on sight and grab the boy out of his arms.

"Why thank you, Teddy. Shall we get some food to mark this momentous occasion?" Teddy of course had no idea what was happening, but Ginny had said his favourite word, and therefore stretched and squealed towards Molly in the kitchen. Arms empty once more, and feeling too heavy from keeping the baby's weight above his head, Fred once more sprawled out, probably taking up more than his quota of available space in the room. He kept his eyes closed in relaxation, but could still hear a scoff of amusement come from the couch with the three girls on it.

Peeking an eye open, Fred saw Tessa staring at him with a horribly hidden grin on her lips, "How is it you've managed to take up four different spots?"

"Pure Weasley talent of course," he quipped but did pull his arms back, and threw his legs off the back of the couch to have them land of Harry again. He hadn't meant to smack the Chosen One with his feet, but accidents happen, so Fred rolled with it. Harry tried valiantly to swat the feet away, but the two ended up swatting each other, hands and feet. Tessa rolled her eyes at them before giving Hermione a consoling look. She hopped up off the couch to head into the kitchen, still hoping she'd be allowed to help with dinner.

Ginny passed Tessa by the kitchen doorway, looking frazzled with a mumbling Teddy in her arms. The boy's dinner was on a small plate, already mashed or cut up, but the boy seemed to want nothing to do with it.

"Come give him to me, Gin. He looks fussy." Harry stood evading Fred's waving feet, to take the troublesome boy from her arms. Ginny gave Harry a grateful pout, handed over the tray of foods, then bolted up the stairs without another word. Harry shrugged and went to the furthest point in the room, avoiding the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, and keeping the rest of the sitting rooms occupants in a splatter free zone. Ron took this moment to come down stairs, holding a small blanket Mrs. Weasley had seemed to have made years earlier, in his hands. He was frowning up at the way he'd come, having passed by an upset Ginny.

"What's up with Gin?" Ron asked with clear concern for his sister, and handed the blanket to Romilda, draping it across her lap for her to notice. The girl gave him a warm smile, thanking him and unfolding it carefully, feeling the raised stitches as she moved over them.

"Teddy wasn't cooperating; she must have gone up to relax before dinner. I'll go check on her once Ted's finished." Harry said to his friend without looking away from Teddy, being extremely careful in handing his son mashed potatoes. He was right to be alert, as Teddy giggled at the sight of the fluffy side, and promptly swung it over his head in glee. Harry sighed, admonished the boy lightly before all but shoving peas into the giggling mouth. Ron snorted at both of their faces, Teddy in surprised outraged and Harry with stubbornness. The two boys settled down, Teddy reluctantly eating on his own, and Ron went to sit with Romilda and Hermione. With someone else to keep Romilda company Hermione patted the girls arm before getting up and sitting next to Fred, perched on the edge of the cushion so their hips were side by side.

She looked down at him, smiling at him like a mother trying not to chastise their kid, "Hello, Freddie."

Fred grinned up at her, swinging his feet around above the couch, "'Lo Mione,"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm in a good mood, love. It's not my fault Harry didn't appreciate my advances." Fred scoffed in derision, like Harry had offended him. Hermione rolled her eyes, but patted the cushion in invitation, hoping Fred wouldn't be so stubborn to stay on the floor the rest of the day. He did move though, swinging his feet over her head, this time careful not to collide, and scrambled up to the couch cushions. Hermione waited until he was settled before curling into his side, keeping him in one place.

"Are you really in that good a mood, or are you just bored?" Hermione asked quietly once they had settled together. Fred snorted, squeezing her arm as his hand began tracing lines up and down her side.

"Believe it or not, but I'm in a good mood because this beautiful girl I've been seeing finally stayed the night with me." Fred made sure to whisper quietly, knowing at least three other people could overhear them, and Hermione would get horribly embarrassed if her best friends heard.

"Goodness, you lucky sod, she must have been good." She giggled, nuzzled into his shoulder to hide her face when making the joke. Fred found it horribly endearing, and placed a quick kiss to her temple.

Grinning, Fred dragged his nose down her cheek to whisper in her ear, "Surprised the hell out of me, love. Honestly impressed those glasses didn't break." Hermione stifled another giggle, wrapping her arm around his. "And I was thinking… we had been talking about some pretty, exciting, stuff before you snapped."

Hermione smacked his chest, "I didn't _snap_, I was just upset."

"Oh, I've heard you _upset _before, this was banshee level." Fred teased, continuing his finger's path across her hip, tracing the spot he knew was ticklish if she kept his fingers there too long.

"Fine, but getting back to it, yes, it was an important conversation, wasn't it?" Fred grinned at her hedging, obviously waiting for him to bring it up first. He snuck a glance at the other occupants in the room, checking they were all still busy. Being careful not to draw attention to them, Fred tucked his head down to nuzzle into her neck, instantly pressing kisses everywhere he could reach. At the same time, he moved his hand from her hip to walk his fingers across her abdomen.

"You know, we could have started that baby last night."

Hermione's eyes went wide, and she snuck a glance at her friends before turning her head, forcing Fred's lips away from her neck. He made an unhappy noise, leaving his kisses over her cheek once before meeting her lips with his. "Fred, shush, they'll hear-"

"No they won't, we're being quiet."

Hermione still seemed hesitant to say more, but she did walk her own fingers over his, tracing his handprint where it lay on her flat stomach. Even without words, Fred had never heard her so loud. Her tentative movements spoke for themselves, and he almost couldn't handle how excited and sad it made him.

"Do you think we did?" She finally whispered, still not looking away from their hands together.

"Possibly, but we can't know yet, so don't get too excited, Hermione." She nodded for him to know she'd heard, but she still didn't leave his hand alone. They sat in comfortable silence, Fred relaxing into the back of the couch with Hermione tight to his side, both of them angled towards one another.

"Freddie," again her voice was that small, vulnerable one that reminded Fred of a first year Hermione after the Golden Trio's foray into the dungeons of the school.

"Yes?"

"Why am I so anxious to have a baby?"

Fred had no answer, not looking at her to hide the sad expression he knew would be on his face. In truth, he was anxious to have a baby too, but like Hermione, he knew they were too young to have to deal with this. Being in a war definitely made them all grow up, but being a father at twenty one was not a life ambition he had planned for himself. On one hand, he was scared; scared enough to go to his mum and beg her to help. But on the other, he felt right with Hermione, and loved her more than he thought possible. Being there for someone, especially the bright witch at his side, made him feel needed and strong, both things he'd not felt in a long time. So no, a family wouldn't be a bad thing, not with Hermione, but he shouldn't, _couldn't_, be ready now. Right?

"Maybe," he started slowly, waiting for Hermione to catch on that he was trying to answer her, "maybe we're ready, Mione. This law was made for convenience, not love, but maybe they did something right with us."

Hermione was watching him, he could feel it. Once finished, Fred looked down at her, pecking her nose with a tiny kiss, making her blink quickly. "I think they did too," she whispered lightly, not letting his hand go where they both lay.

They both smiled secretly, and relaxed again before dinner, both happy to know the other felt love for them, even if now wasn't the time to say it aloud.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Ginny didn't come down stairs until Mrs. Weasley started calling that the light lunch she'd prepared was ready in the garden. Everyone but Fred and Hermione had moved to go outside, both too content where they were to get food. Hermione didn't notice Ginny until the girl was at the bottom of the steps, creeping into the kitchen with her arms wrapped around her middle and her shoulders slumped.

"Ginny?" Hermione popped up from Fred's arms, leaning over him to watch her friend. Ginny froze and looked over at them, relaxing when she saw it was only the two.

"Gin-Gin, what's wrong?" Fred asked his baby sister, sitting up from the back of the couch, unwinding his and Hermione's arms from one another.

"Um, I don't really, Fred, could I talk with Hermione?" Ginny asked much too quietly, but Fred didn't push deciding to leave his sister and fiancée alone. He left a kiss on Hermione's head, and kissed Ginny's cheek quick as he passed her by.

Once he had left, Hermione looked back at Ginny, who had seemed to sink in further at the contact from her brother. "Ginny, you're beginning to scare me." Hermione whispered across the room, and Ginny rushed over, keeping her arms around herself.

"Hermione, I think I'm in trouble." Ginny groaned, sitting so closely to one another she was practically on Hermione's lap. "Maybe not _trouble_, but I definitely don't know what to do!"

"Ginny, look at me, what happened?" Hermione grabbed her friend's arms and made her stay still before she began hyperventilating.

"I think I'm pregnant!"

Both girls stayed silent in shock, Ginny in surprise she'd been able to say it out loud, and Hermione in pure astonishment. "You're what? Pregnant?"

"Shush! Someone could hear you, besides I don't know for sure. I may have done the spell wrong; it fizzled out weirdly at the end before it even changed colours, so it may have been false. But Hermione, what if I am? What do I do?" Ginny threw her hands in the air, nearly knocking into Hermione's head.

Hermione pushed her friend back into the couch, and threw a blanket over her head like she did to Crookshanks whenever he got rowdy. "Ginerva Molly Weasley, stop moving! If you scream one more word, I will charm your mouth shut." The blanket lump stopped moving altogether for a full minute, before small giggles began from under the afghan. Hermione stared at the lump before she began to giggle too, and eventually both of the girls were collapsing into one another, giggling uncontrollably.

Ginny pulled the blanket off her head, still laughing, "You threw a blanket over me, you nutter."

"Well, you're calmer now, so let's try this again, okay? We'll go have lunch so no one sends a search out for us, enjoy the food, and then we'll go up to your room and I'll do the spell for you, alright? Then you don't have to worry about messing it up when you get nervous." Hermione said more calmly now, rubbing Ginny's back in comfort and support. Ginny gave her friend a watery smile and a happy nod, and fell into a hug.

"That sounds really great, thank you." Ginny sniffed, and they both smiled at one another again before getting up and walking outside to join the family together. They were silent until they got to the front door, when Ginny snagged Hermione's wrist, pulling her back again.

"I'm getting married in two weeks, what if I am pregnant?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and kept going, dragging Ginny behind her, "You won't blow up in two weeks, now go eat too much and we'll deal with this later."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

An hour and a half later, everyone was either going for a game of Quidditch, or lounging in the house. Mrs. Weasley was already scrubbing dishes, reluctantly allowing Tessa to help her this time, the blonde smiling happily as she passed the dry dishes on to her fiancé, who had been dragged into helping. Harry, Ron, Bill, Fred and the just arrived George and Angelina were all on brooms already, their Quidditch game in full swing. Percy was in the house, reading on one of the kitchen chairs, and Audrey had decided to bring Romilda out to the field to keep the players company and keep score. They had asked Ginny to join to make it a fair game, but Hermione had quickly jumped to the rescue, making up an excuse for her and Ginny. They were now up

"Okay, I've silenced the room, the door is locked, we're good to go when you're ready, Gin." Hermione flourished her wand once more at the door, in case one of the twins decided to try and get in. She was well aware of their newest toy that could break a simple locking charm. Ginny was sitting on her bed, the covers pulled up to the headboard haphazardly so both girls could sit down. Hermione instead made her way over to her friend, waiting for her to lie down.

Ginny took deep breaths as she made herself comfortable, and lifted the bottom of her shirt up to expose the skin of her abdomen. She nodded at Hermione to let her know she was ready. Hermione kept her wand over Ginny, and whispered the test spell. It took a moment for the charm to begin, but a gold swirl began from the tip of her wand and made a slow spiral down to reach Ginny, meeting at her belly button. Hermione continued the circular motion, going with the golden swirl, waiting for it to complete.

And to both their amazement, the lovely golden swirl shifted in front of their eyes to a wave of blue, moving from her belly to the tip of Hermione's wand. Both girls gasped, and Hermione let go of her wand, the spell stopping immediately. Neither girl could move; both stuck in the positions they were in, shocked to the core.

"You're,"

"I'm,"

"Yeah,"

"Yup,"

A complete five minutes went by without either saying a thing, Hermione had sat down on the bed, and Ginny had put her shirt down, but her hands were still covering the spot. Suddenly, Ginny burst into tears, covering her face and sobbing in huge breaths. Hermione didn't know what to do, patting her friend in horrible slow pats, waiting for her to calm down. But she was shocked once again when Ginny suddenly stopped sobbing, and her cries turned into happy giggles.

"I'm going to have a baby!" She cried out loud, throwing her hands up like she was on a muggle rollercoaster, a wide, wet grin spread over her face.

Hermione flailed, her hands going around uselessly, "Er, yeah, you are. Is that a good thing, or no?"

Ginny couldn't seem to stop nodding, and smiling, her hands going out to grasp at Hermione's shirt, pulling her in for a hug. "Hermione, I can't decide how to feel; Happy, or excited."

"Oh, so you're not upset? You've confused me a bit at the beginning, honestly." She scoffed at her friend, but hugged her tight, happy her friend was happy. Both were now crying, and holding each other, but neither could stop smiling.

"Oh! And I'm going to be an aunt again!" Hermione gasped. Ginny gave her friend a weird look, but was still smiling, so it ruined the mood.

"Technically, you and Fred aren't married yet, so,"

"Don't you ruin this for me, Ginerva Weasley." Hermione laughed and rolled over her friend so she could lie on the other side of the bed. They were still hugging, curled up with one another and giggling about the baby between them.

Ginny sighed as she put her hand back onto her stomach, "Hermione, I have a baby in here! And I'll have to tell Harry, but I'm so happy right now, I don't even care how he's going to react." Hermione laughed too, imagining Harry's face when his fiancée told him he was going to be a dad. Ginny sighed heavily, but it was so filled with love, Hermione could only grin. "It's too bad you couldn't be pregnant too, we'd be pregnant together."

And Hermione froze. All thoughts of happiness for Ginny and Harry's good news disappeared as her mind went blank, every part of her body focused on the idea that she might be. Which was ridiculous, they'd only slept together for the first time last night. And Fred had just brought up having a baby downstairs for Merlin's sake! There was no reason for her to freeze up at the idea of being pregnant right now. But with Ginny here, with a baby right now, the idea was too real, and she hesitated too long to answer Ginny.

"You, _can't_ be pregnant, right?" Ginny reiterated, stressing her question. Hermione still gaped like a fish, not sure what to say. "Hermione, did you sleep with Fred?!"

"Well, yes," She began, but Ginny cut her off with a slap to the shoulder.

"You little-! Why didn't you say anything? Merlin, that's why you and Fred were being so obnoxiously adorable all day! Oh bloody hell, you left me with mum for an extra two hours this morning to shag, didn't you?" Ginny was almost squealing now, somewhere between angry at not being told and happy she and Fred were so together now.

"Gin! Stop shouting, I don't know how long that Silencing charm actually holds." Hermione smacked a hand over Ginny's mouth, but then smiled, and knew she was blushing terribly.

"Okay fine, I'll tell you if you don't interrupt." Hermione said, giving Ginny the eye. The redhead nodded and stayed quiet, her smile not wavering one bit. So Hermione laid back into the pillows, getting comfortable with her best friend, and began the small story of her and Fred really getting together.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Pretty cute, right? I rather enjoyed making this chapter, though I'm not the best at portraying cute coupley moments. **

**I hadn't been planning to have this one done for another week or so, but I ended up with a weird work weekend, so it was done faster than anticipated.**

**Til next time, AJ**


	18. Test of Endurance

**A/N Guys, thanks to everyone for being so patient! Work was a bitch over winter, and a lot has happened house and life wise.**

**I've been editing and changing (quite a lot!) previous chapters, as I've come to realize I missed a lot of little things I'd meant to include. So look out for that. **

**Thank you for everyone's amazing emails! I don't know if I've said this before, but you guys are all so positive, I'm not sure if I've ever gotten a mean one before… special thanks to 3cheersforidiots (PS I'm dying from your name) for your amazingly long review that blew my mind. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer? What's that? Haven't done one of them in ages. But I don't own these.**

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Being woken up at five in the morning wasn't her favourite moment, and unsurprisingly it wasn't Fred's either. As the door opened ever so slowly, Hermione was sure Crookshanks was trying to sneak in for a morning snuggle before Fred chased him off the bed. Instead, she got a rush of limbs and bony elbows as the unknown person launched themselves onto the bed, landing mostly on top of her legs. Though once they regained their balance, the person tried to wiggle between Hermione and Fred, even burrowing underneath Fred's arm that was wrapped over Hermione's chest.

"Merlin, you two are tucked closer than two toads!" A female voice grumped from between them, making Hermione snort in amusement and Fred grumble. Ginny squirmed around more, finally getting underneath Fred's arm so she was squeezed right up to Hermione's back.

"Ginevra," Fred growled at his sister, rolling over to face the other way and continue grumbling and cursing his sister under his breath.

"Hush you, it's my wedding day. You're interrupting the start of my prep time." Ginny says over her shoulder, hugging Hermione to her excitedly. Fred turned over once to glare at Ginny over his shoulder before crawling out of bed, basically falling to the floor and dragging the top duvet with him. Hermione shared in Ginny's amusement as they watched Fred stumble out the door, listening to him hit the couch cushions, most likely already asleep.

"Your fiancé is a bit grumpy, Hermione." Ginny giggled into her friend's shoulder before moving over to the spot Fred had just vacated.

"Only when he's woken up four hours before the store usually opens. Why are we meeting up here? I thought we would set up at the Burrow?" Hermione sat up into her pillows, switching on the lamp next to her side of the bed as it was the least bright. Ginny shook her head before mirroring Hermione on Fred's less fluffy pillows.

"No, mum had all the boys doing last minute cleaning, and I didn't want us to be interrupted; I already flooed Luna and Angelina to come here instead."

Hermione nodded her agreement, yawning loudly before climbing out of bed to go and get ready for the day. Ginny vacated the bed as well, going back into the room with her wrapped wedding dress, hidden from sight for the past month. Leaving her friend in her room, Hermione passed a groggy Fred on the couch on her way to the toilet, shyly running her hand over the top of his head. Gaining nothing more than a grumpy, tired groan, Hermione went to the washroom to help wake herself up. Once finished her morning routine, she exited the toilet to grab Ginny for a breakfast break before starting on her bridal look. Upon opening the door, she found Angelina was already in the kitchen starting up food for everyone. The dark beauty didn't seem anymore awake as the rest of the flat, her hair bunched up into a messy bun that rivaled her own on a good day, and what looked like a pair of George's pj pants.

Greeting Angelina a good morning, Hermione joined Fred on the couch as she waited for the food to finish. Her fiancé was curled up as tight as he could be into one corner of the couch, but his legs still reached to the other arm of the sofa. Rather than lifting his curled limbs, Hermione sat on his calves to slip into the small cubby his leg and the sofa back made. Fred's ruddy red hair peaked out from the mound of blankets as he squinted out into the bright room at her.

"I don't find it very fair I was forced out of bed, only to be interrupted out here too." Fred mumbled at her, only getting a pitiless smirk in response from his fiancée.

"Your little sister is getting married; the least you can do is wake up early." shrugging in defiance, Fred started rolling around to sit up, finally pushing the duvet off his shoulders and onto the floor. Hermione only watched him; the hilarity of Fred trying to maneuver his long limbs around on the small couch space was too good to miss, until finally Fred managed to flip himself around so his head was now in Hermione's lap, and his feet hanging over the opposite side.

"But Mione," he whined into her thigh, nuzzling the soft fabric of her pants, "you were so warm and comfy," Fred practically turned his face into her stomach to nuzzle closer to her and whisper, "and I wanted to have a lay in this morning. And maybe talk about that thing we stopped discussing last week. Getting ready for that, you know?"

Hermione frowned down at him, continuing to run her fingers through his long hair. "Sorry, what thing, Freddie?" Fred sighed, sounding a bit exasperated, before lifting her shirt the smallest amount to lay a sweet kiss just below her belly button. "Oh, right." Suddenly, Hermione wasn't feeling well enough to be settled underneath a warm body. Her tongue felt swollen and her throat became too dry to say anything to break the silence between the two of them now. Ginny came back out of the bedroom, giving Hermione a meaningful look to hurry up so they could start. Waving her off over Fred's head, Hermione waited for her friend to disappear into the kitchen with Angelina, leaving her hands on her lap rather than anywhere near Fred.

"Hermione?" Fred asked once he heard the kitchenette's door close, knowing full well Ginny and Angelina couldn't hear them now.

"I thought I already could have been," She whispered to the other side of the room, refusing contact with Fred when he tried to have her look at him.

"What, you thought you were pregnant?!" She spread her arms over the back of the couch to give Fred space as he scrambled up and off the couch.

"No! Well, yes, but that's not what I meant," Fred stared at her, dumbfounded. Hermione was beginning to feel anxious of this whole ordeal. "That didn't make any sense."

Fred shook his head in agreement, "Nope, do try again, love." Hermione took a deep breath, moving herself on the cushion to once more face Fred. "But this story better not begin with, "I thought I was pregnant for a week."

Hermione opened her mouth to begin before realizing she couldn't without saying those exact words. "Hermione!" Fred yelled now, making her jump in her seat. Only now she was getting angry; he wasn't allowed to yell at her now!

"Don't shout at me, Fredrick! Let me explain before you fly off the handle," She was standing now, looming over his head, red with anger.

"Oh, I can be mad, in fact, I'm furious over this! You don't keep something like this a complete secret; you're supposed to share with me. We're getting married for Merlin's sake, why wouldn't you have said anything?!" Fred roared at her, falling back into the couch

"Stop yelling!" Hermione finished with a scream, creating a massive silence once they both stopped. The kitchen had gone completely silent, creating a haunting sound of calm through the flat. Hermione was suddenly glad the boys had closed the shop for the weekend otherwise she was certain they would be receiving complaints from customers. "Don't yell at me," her whisper broke the quiet, shocking a gulp of air out of Fred.

He could only rasp out "Don't lie to me," in reply.

"I didn't lie; don't put words into my mouth." Hermione was beginning to feel threatened, her fingers twitching for her wand, a reflex she thought she'd gotten over months ago.

Fred slumped down, his head going into his hands, "Just say it Hermione, say 'I'm not pregnant' so we can forget all about this. Start over, and we can try later, yeah?"

"I don't think I can," Her twitching fingers were wrapped around her sweater hem in nervous agitation now. Fred glared at her from between his hands, but Hermione didn't let him interrupt now, "I don't think I can have children."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

The wedding ceremony looked lovely. Hermione peeked through the sheer curtains Mrs. Weasley had set up as a 'door' between Ginny and the congregation, staring at the magical beauty. Ginny had wanted 'red and simple' as her colours, completely boggling her mother but easily appeased by her fiancé. Harry had asked Luna Lovegood to supply her prettiest flowers she had, which the girl had done gladly, stating the golden garnet lilies were dusted with the poison of Moon Frogs. 'Luckily,' Luna had stated dreamily, 'their poison doesn't react with human skin, so you should be quite alright.' Mrs. Weasley's sheer curtain doors were also used to drape the ceiling of the outdoor tent, held up by a light levitation spell, causing the curtains to sway in the gentle breeze. Candles and gold dustings of fairy dust lined the centre isle the wedding party was meant to walk over.

Hermione could see many of her friends from Hogwarts, and many of the professors as well. Many random witches and wizards from the Wizarding World had begged to be included in the wedding, causing Kingsley to give Harry and Ginny a security detail to keep their party private. Unfortunately, the wedding was still not a 'small' wedding, as Mrs. Weasley absolutely insisted on most of their extended family being there for her 'baby girl's special day'. Hilariously, Audrey had been the first of the future Weasley's to flat out refuse such a large wedding for herself once she'd glanced the amount of people attending. The rest of the girls quickly agreed, allowing Mrs. Weasley a certain amount of family members for their own weddings. Ginny didn't have any choice, but later admitted to Hermione she had honestly expected more people because she was marrying the Chosen One.

Most of the crowd was red headed Weasley's, spotted with spouses, and their friends from Hogwarts. Hermione noticed McGonagall seated by Madame Pomfrey, both tittering over Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, making Hermione smile at the women's actions. The front row on the right side of the aisle was completely empty, two seats meant for Luna and Neville as the groomsman and bridesmaid to sit once they'd made it to the altar. The rest were left unoccupied on Luna's instructions, but no one had questioned the girl upon her request when Harry and Ginny had allowed her to have her way. The row behind the empty row had Ginny's immediate family, Mrs. Weasley on the end, next to Fleur and Victorie on her lap, then Bill next to Fleur. Charlie and Tessa were seated behind them, just to make a bit more room in the second row, having Romilda join them as Ron was in the wedding party. George and Fred were next, Angelina switching seats with Fred occasionally to sit between them. Though Hermione wasn't one hundred percent sure if it was to lean over and coo over Victorie or to break up George and Fred's scheming. Hermione and Fred hadn't spoken since six this morning, and it was now reaching half four. Audrey had been placed beside Fred, and again Hermione wasn't sure if it had happened that way because the two didn't have much to say to one another on a normal basis. The remaining was Percy on the end, fidgeting in his seat.

"Hermione?" Ginny touched her shoulder gently, so as not to startle her friend. Hermione turned back to see two of her best friends standing just behind her. Ron was there only to ensure the two girls were set before going up to the front to stand behind Harry.

"You ready Gin?" She asked politely, though her head was in another place. Ginny smiled gently at her friend, petting the bushy hair back into its styled bun. Ron gave his sister a kiss on the head and Hermione a quick his on her cheek before ducking through the curtain, walking up to stand next to Harry, clapping his best friend's shoulder.

"'Mione, its okay," Ginny said now, still whispering to keep their conversation private.

"How is this okay? I could have just ruined his life," Neither girl had to ask what each other meant, understanding the consequences Hermione would face if she failed to reproduce.

"I promise, we can do the home fertility charm right after, I'll get mum to help. I know she won't say anything about it." Ginny said too casually, making Hermione smirk, but a feeling of complete gratitude washed over her.

"You don't have to worry about this for me now, Gin. I'll ask your mum after if I can't do it myself." The girls were silent, listening to the crowd stir, and the charmed harp play a settling tune. "I should have known about this earlier," Hermione whispered to the curtain, not able to make eye contact with Ginny.

Scoffing, Ginny turned her friend around, making the silk of Hermione's crimson gown ruffle against the lace overlay of her own dress, "Hermione Granger, this is not something you can blame yourself for. You had no choice over what your body will allow,"

Hermione pushed off the comforting hands, her whisper coming out sharp, "But I should have suspected something Ginny! I was put through the Cruciatus curse so many times I still don't understand how I'm standing to this day!"

Ginny was completely silent, staring at Hermione is complete shock. It took a moment for Hermione to calm herself, realizing belatedly Ginny still hadn't been told all the facts of their year on the run. "Damn, this really isn't a good time to be going over this,"

Ginny shook her head in agreement, "No, it's really not. But, I'll have Harry tell me later, and I'll let you deal with this new problem, yeah?" The girls agreed together. Both took calming breaths before being interrupted by Mr. Weasley.

"Are you ready, dears?" He asked both the girls, waiting for their nods before opening the curtain to wave his wand at the harp, starting the march. Luna squeezed between the three of them, snatching Neville's elbow as she went, starting the procession off. Once they were half way down, with everyone looking at them and smiling at the sweet dreaminess of Luna, and the handsome awkwardness of Neville, Hermione began to step out to begin her steps down the aisle.

"Hermione!" Ginny stopped her again, making the bushy haired witch spin towards her friend and her father who was looking at the two with what seemed like tears in his eyes. Hermione was suddenly gathered in a warm hug, and released almost immediately. "It's going to be okay." Ginny reiterated, giving her a gentle push through the sheer curtain.

Every head turned her way, staring at her now that Luna and Neville had made it to Harry, the destination she was meant for. Waiting for the cue, Hermione began walking slowly, toes practically skimming her heels every step she made. The gentle brush of the inner silk lining of her dress caressed her knees, creating an odd calming motion with every step. A few of the girls she went to school with looked shocked to see her, and it made her wonder if they had known she was even still alive. But soon, as she continued passing one familiar face after another, and eventually Weasley family members she wasn't familiar with, she began seeing happy smiles from older woman, and wandering eyes from quite a few of the males she passed. Butterflies rushed through her, a feeling she hadn't felt since walking down the steps to the Yule Ball in her periwinkle blue dress. Without the intention, Hermione had made herself beautiful again, and people had noticed.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Fred had spent the first half of the wedding staring at his gorgeous fiancée he was still angry with. Only now, he was angry with himself for being angry with the gorgeous witch, especially as many of his extended family members hadn't looked away from her since she'd stepped into the room. Suddenly, he was cursing his mother for actually keeping her mouth shut this once, and not introducing all her new daughter-in-laws to his multiple cousins and aunts. Now he had every breathing male within a five mile radius panting over the Golden Trio's leading lady. He'd already been elbowed by Angelina twice when George noticed him fuming and couldn't reach him his self. Audrey had even given him a few odd looks, but she had no idea about his and Hermione's fight, so he knew he must have been overreacting.

Ginny and Harry had just finished their vows, and were now clasping hands to seal the marriage vows. Hermione stepped forward to take Ginny's bouquet of roses and lilies, making her own silky trail from her dress press against her legs, making Fred shift in his seat once more. He realized he should be watching his only sister's wedding more, but he couldn't move his eyes from the maid of honour, or her flat stomach. Her words from early this morning kept hitting him in the gut, regret and an unsettled feeling swirling in his stomach each time he thought about them again. He knew George and Angelina had overheard, but neither had made a mention of it to him.

"Fred," Angelina hissed at him, jabbing her elbow into his ribs again, "we're moving to the reception. Wake up before you trip over someone." He glared good naturedly at his future twinster-in-law, following her and his twin out behind the wedding party. His dad immediately started the dance music up, many couples moving to the floor to begin dancing. Harry brought Ginny over, their first dance surrounded by friends and family rather than alone, a motion Fred found very like the two. George and Angelina left his side to join in the dance, leaving Fred alone again.

"'Lo Freddie," his brother Charlie's voice came up next to him, a flask of Firewhisky already in hand.

"Evening Charlie, where's Tess?" Fred asked without really looking around. Charlie gestured to the dance floor, where Fred noticed Tessa had been dragged into a dance with one of his father's cousins, a rather bright character that seemed to always be wearing some bright coloured Muggle scarf around his waist. "Ah, what a lucky gal," Fred snickered, Charlie joining in at the expense of his fiancée's sanity.

"And where is the lovely Miss Granger? I'd have thought you'd have her attached to your arm to fend off the Weasley clan."

Fred sighed heavily, wondering the same thing, "We had a bit of a row this morning, and I'm still trying to come up with a good apology."

Charlie cringed for his little brother, smacking his hand on the slightly taller boy's shoulder, "That's rough, what was the tiff about?" Fred went silent, tipping Charlie off that this might have been a bit bigger of a deal than he was expecting, "Fred?"

"Yeah, uh, Hermione mentioned this morning she thought she was pregnant." Charlie stared at his brother, open mouthed. "But I got a bit miffed when she mentioned she thought that a week ago, but didn't tell me."

"Ah, Fred," Charlie groaned now, running a hand through his mussed red hair.

"And then," Fred continued, ignoring Charlie's flummoxed expression, "while I was yelling, she dropped the bomb that she might not actually be able to have a baby, because of what happened the year they were on the run during the war."

Charlie was completely silenced, trying desperately to come up with something to say. "Yeah, that was my reaction exactly. By then Hermione was basically done talking to me and left to get Ginny ready. Hence, why I am standing here alone, wondering if my girlfriend is going to try and leave me." Fred groaned, basically expecting nothing better after tonight.

"Fred, she wouldn't do that, you two obviously love each other-"

"You don't know that, Charlie. She has no reason to, I've never told her, and now I'm going to lose her because I never said how much I love her!" He whispered harshly, not wanting to be overheard having a breakdown. Charlie couldn't say anything else, instead offering Fred a sip of his Firewhisky. Fred took it with a wry grin, taking a generous swig and handing it back immediately. Charlie began wandering off in search of a happier companion. A gentle touch to his arm startled him from his thoughts, whipping his head around to see Hermione standing a few inches from him. Her hand was still resting on the crease of his suit jacket, her other wrapped nervously around her waist.

"Hey," he breathed, turning fully to face her. Hermione smiled and returned his greeting, standing right next to him now.

"Would you like to dance with me?" she asked politely, not pulling him to join her or pushing him to stay away. A happy medium. Fred offered his hand; glad Hermione took it without hesitation. He pulled her over to a spot on the floor, tucking her into his chest like they did this every day. Hermione looped one hand around his shoulders, dragging her nails over the nape of his neck. Without really thinking about it, Fred used his arm around her waist to pull her in even closer, placing a kiss to her temple. Hermione didn't say anything about the kiss, but hid her face into his chest without comment. They swayed gently for most of the song, both lost in their own world as they slowly traced fingers over each other.

"I'm sorry for not telling you I thought I was pregnant, once I found out I wasn't. I didn't want to get your hopes up." Hermione spoke into his neck, not disturbing their slow steps.

Fred nodded, knowing Hermione could feel him move, rather than trying to speak.

"I'm doing a fertility spell later tonight, just to see."

"Do you want me with you?" Fred whispered down into her ear, still holding her closely, continuing to sway into the next song. Hermione didn't respond immediately, but eventually Fred felt her nod furiously into his jacket. He gave her waist a squeeze to let her know he understood, and tucked a fallen lock of hair behind her hair leaving a kiss on her temple.

"I'm sorry I was pressuring you so much about having kids,"

"I'm sorry I haven't told you about the year we were gone."

Both stayed silent with one another, the weight on their shoulders relieved by each other. Hermione lifted her face from Fred's chest, propping her chin on his shoulder, trailing her fingers up into his hair and back down across his broad shoulders. She noticed Ginny and Harry in relatively the same position, only Ginny was whispering something in Harry's ear. Realizing this may be a private moment between the two, Hermione was about to look away before she noticed the bright, happy grin spreading over Harry's face.

"I think Ginny just told Harry she's expecting," Hermione whispered up to Fred's ear, holding on tight when he inevitably spun to stare at his baby sister.

"Gin's pregnant?!" He said a bit too loud, but no one seemed to notice. Hermione yanked him back to look down at her, drawing his attention away from the married couple.

"Yes, she found out a couple weeks ago. That's why we thought I was too, but I ended up just having a bit of stomach flu." She chided him, making him move over to the edge of the floor to leave Ginny and Harry in peace. Fred stayed pretty quiet for a minute, looking back to Ginny. Hermione continued their swaying, her hands never leaving his hair.

"Huh," was all he managed to say, keeping Hermione close to his side. She didn't mind too much, glad they were on better terms now. Fred's attention was eventually drawn back to Hermione, a nervous grin on his face. "Mione,"

"Yes?" she craned her neck to look up into Fred's eyes.

"Say no if you don't want to,"

"Okay?"

"Can we go do that spell now?" he grinned at her like a school boy, nerves and a weird happiness spreading from him to her. Hermione looked around them to see if anyone would notice them missing. Not seeing anyone looking their way, Hermione snatched Fred's hand in hers; pulling him towards the tool shed next to the Burrow.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Fred had Hermione sat up on the workbench in the centre of the shed, facing one another with Hermione's wand between them. The tip of the wand had a swirling pink mist surrounding it, twirling around gaily, completely disregarding the tense atmosphere.

"How long is this supposed to take?" Fred asked, not for the first time.

Hermione didn't take her eyes off the mist of her wand, "Depends on the situation I suppose."

"And how is your situation different?" Fred asked, curious if she would have any idea, or shoo his question off. Hermione peeked up at him for a moment, staring back at the wand the next second.

"Well, I suppose the test may take a while to get past anything left from the curses. Though, I don't remember enough to know if any of them had been aimed to my stomach. Most went to my legs and arms, and a few to my spine." She said this all so casually, she could have been talking about a book she'd read. Fred knew better, but didn't say anything to disrupt Hermione. The mist started to turn gold, and Hermione flipped furiously through the textbook she had whipped out of her handbag before beginning the spell.

"What's gold mean?" Fred asked curiously, leaning in to try and decipher the complex code.

"Just that it's working its way through. I think it might have gotten confused by something else damaged. My blood count might even be off, that could have thrown it off." She shrugged, flipping one more page to study more color co-ordinations.

They lapsed back into silence, the wand's spell still swirling, shifting from gold to bronze over and over. Fred already knew which color they were waiting for; he'd asked three times already. 'Green, green is good, black is bad.'

"Hermione," Fred practically yelped, surprising himself with his need to continue speaking. Hermione gave him a light glare, pretending she was becoming fed up with his meddling.

"Yes, Fredrick?" a tiny grin lifted the one corner of her lips, but she didn't stray from the working spell.

"I need you to know, before that spell finishes, that I love you."

Hermione stared at him now, shock raising her brows and her shoulders drooping. Fred didn't say anything else to break the silence, having said his piece. He looked away first, glancing out the dirty window towards the rest of the party still in full swing.

"Fred," Hermione whispered lightly, drawing his attention back to her. But she wasn't watching him, causing the rock in his stomach to sink once more. Instead she was staring at her wand with renewed interest, and the rock lifted again. "It's turned green."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**I. Am. So. Sorry. **

**Whirlwind. A whirlwind of emotions and life trying to get through this chapter. I'm trying to get back into writing, and I'll be applying for school again in the fall, so now I'm excited about everything again.**

**Thanks to everyone for still being interested in this story, and continuing to read during my small hiatus.**

**thanks, AJ**


	19. Wedding Planning

**Hi everyone! I'm back again, with a new chapter that took me longer than usual to get out. And I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story so much, but I don't know why you guys are always so sad when you think I've abandoned my story. I haven't left, but being an adult is dumb, and it doesn't let you enjoy hobbies as much. **

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Angelina arrived at Weasley Wizard Wheezes around noon, ready to help the boys during the busy lunch time rush. It was only May, but the younger kids getting ready to go back to Hogwarts in the new school year were becoming rowdy. To prove it, the doors to the boys' shop had been propped open to keep the bell from going off constantly each time the door swung open to allow the crowd to move in and out. Hobbling up to the door, Angelina tiptoed past the first few little ones who hadn't made it much farther into the shop yet. Her feet were still killing her from dancing last night, as she knew they would from past experience of dancing with the Weasley's. Though she had Mrs. Weasley's assurance George and Fred were the best dancers of her brood, George still had the tendency to get too excited and tread on her toes.

The first few feet of the store were jam packed, making it incredibly hard to maneuver around anyone. Eventually, Angelina made it to a safe space to breathe, and noticed Verity waving at her from behind the jumping checkout. Giving the tiny girl a wave back, Angelina made her way over to cash, angering a few people when she budded in front of them to step behind the counter.

"Hello Angelina," Verity chirped, handing the packed bag to the customer that had just payed. She waved to the leaving boy before turning fully to Angelina, allowing the other cashier to take the next person in que.

"Nice to see you again, Verity. Been a good day so far?" Angelina nodded to the store to indicate the general area. Verity shrugged, indifferent to any of it.

"It's been steady all day, but I feel like I'm a bad judge. I only see the line up; I don't normally walk around like the boys."

"Speaking of, where are those boys? I haven't seen either of them yet." Angelina looked around again, like she was proving she had come in for a reason. Verity sighed, nodding her chin up the stairs that led to Fred and George's flat.

"I've only seen George so far, but he went up again about five minutes ago."

Angelina rolled her eyes at the girl, sharing a moment of female solitude between them. Waving a goodbye for now, Angelina made her way to the stairs, skipping the first step just in case George had left something there again. A few kids watched her go up, then turned around to complain to their mums that she was breaking the rules. The door leading into the flat was painted a deep brown, lying about the mayhem of colours on the inside. Angelina lowered the charms, gaining entry completely free of pranks or goo.

"George? Are you still up here?" Angelina called into the front room. Footsteps sounded from the living room so she stepping inside fully to greet them. George came around the corner like he was hiding, tiptoeing and with his finger over his lips. "Seriously? What are you-?"

"Shh!" He waved his hands in her face, like he could swat away her voice. "We need to go," Angelina found herself being shoved around to face the door again, while her fiancé pushed her out the door.

"Why? George Fabian, what is going on?" She whirled around to face him again, looking over his shoulder to see what he was trying to hide.

George cringed a little, but kept trying to push her out the door, "I left a little surprise for Fred this morning before I went down to open the shop, yeah? But after an hour, still no Freddie. So I came back up to see if he had, you know, rudely died on me, but the bedroom door was still closed. And I know the prank didn't go off, because the bucket of feathers was still levitating. Anyway, I decided to dump the syrup and feathers on him myself, so I opened the doors and," George stopped, a shudder running through his entire body.

"And?!" Angelina was all ears, her mouth wide open in shock at this situation.

"And," George choked dramatically, holding a fist to his mouth like he was about to be sick, "they're still in there!"

"Who? Fred and—oh Merlin, he and Hermione are in," Angelina whipped around, pointing at the door to Fred's room wordlessly, gaping at the closed door.

"Yup," George whispered, holding onto her shoulders now for support.

"Were they," she waves around nonsensically, "_busy_?"

George really chokes this time, "Uh huh."

"Merlin," she paused, then looked back at George wide eyed. "Did you see them?"

George pouted his lip, nodding like a child who had watched their puppy die, "Angie, can you help me scratch my eyes out? Your fingers are thinner; they'll get in easier." Angelina snorted, covering her mouth hurriedly.

"Do they know you walked in on them? Should we leave?" George glanced over his shoulder, and nodded.

"Not sure, but let's go work. I need to distract my eyes from seeing my identical twins bare arse."

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"Fred! You said he was downstairs!" Hermione complained with a harsh smack to Fred's bare shoulder. In retaliation, Fred rolled them over so the blushing girl was straddling his hips.

"He was! However, knowing my dear twin brother, he left me a surprise this morning and had to come and check it had worked. Little bugger has always been too sure of himself, served him right for peeking in." He scowled through his grin, his eyes still sparkling with mirth as he pinched Hermione's side, eliciting a surprised squeal from her.

"Well, thank you for at least having the pretense to cover me." Her blush was making its way down her neck, Fred's gaze trailing after it eagerly.

"While I do share everything with my brother, I'm certainly not letting him catch even a glance at my girl." Hermione giggled when his lips met her neck, hugging him close to her chest enjoying the warmth he provided.

Fred continued peppering her with kisses, moving his way down her body, keenly following the pink blush. "'My girl'? That's a new one," Hermione was interrupted from her teasing by a startled moan leaving her lips when Fred hit a favoured spot on the top of her abdomen.

"Of course my love, I have many names lined up, only for my darling, sweet, lovely, sexy, amazing, bossy…"

"Hey!"

"Sorry, we'll skip that last one. Though it's one of my favourites." Fred grinned lecherously up at his fiancée, who seemed to be having some difficulty breathing normally.

"Mine…too," she gasped out, gripping the side of Fred's head with her fingers threaded through his hair, "But only with those glasses of yours on, mister." Fred popped back up immediately, his grin now childishly impish.

"Yes ma'am," he chirped, leaning over to the nightstand on his side to retrieve his reading glasses he'd discovered a new found love for.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Lunch at the Burrow was a smaller affair than normal, as it only consisted of Hermione, Fred, Harry, Ron and Romilda, who had been staying with Mrs. Weasley a lot during the day time. Mrs. Weasley had surprisingly found a kindred spirit in Romilda, who loved cooking about as much as the matriarch did. They spent many of her visits discussing recipes they had tried, and Romilda's newest way to magically cut herbs so as not to harm herself doing it manually. Mr. Weasley was tickled pink by his wife's enthusiasm for one of their new daughter-in-law's, and Ron was just as happy knowing he'd still be kept well fed by his new wife.

Harry had popped into the Burrow, hoping to catch Ginny before she left with Tessa to Diagon Alley, but had missed her by ten minutes. Finding no other reason to abandon Mrs. Weasley's cooking, Harry had sat himself at the long table, and hadn't moved since. Mrs. Weasley happily sent him fresh cups of tea and jam tarts whenever he sat still for too long. Hermione was convinced she was still trying to 'fatten' him up. Fred hadn't left Hermione's side yet. After making up last night ('and most of this morning') he cheerily reminded her, Fred had winked at George on their way out, Crookshanks tucked under Hermione's arm, declaring he was taking the day off. George had waved him away, turning an alarming shade of red that had Angelina in stitches almost immediately.

So now they found themselves sat at the Burrow's table, facing Harry and Ron, and a few seats away from the chatting Romilda and Mrs. Weasley. Upon arrival, Hermione had been handed a jam tart, and a stack of Witch Weekly: Wedding Editions, and Madame Malkin's Wedding Robes catalogues. Forcing her to release Crookshanks, Hermione maneuvered her way to the table while Fred gladly took the cat, the two having formed a steady bond with one another. Hermione was slaving over every page of every magazine, while Crookshanks played with a loose string from Fred's jumper.

"It disgusts me how much that thing likes you." Ron grumbled, glaring at the ginger cat purring on Fred's lap.

"That's a fine way to talk about one of your best mates. Don't mind him Mione, you don't have to take such slander." Fred nudged her side, receiving a quirked brow and a small smirk for his efforts. Ron turned red, muttering a small apology to Hermione, saying that wasn't what he had meant. Hermione only gave him the same smirk she'd given Fred, returning her attention to the magazines in front of her.

Fred nudged one from the pile, pulling it towards himself, "How are you not laughing at this stuff? It's ridiculous,"

"Yes, but your mother keeps checking on me every few minutes, and I'm scared for my life if I stop reading." Hermione whispers out the cornier of her mouth, causing Fred to guffaw. Mrs. Weasley looked at him strangely, but continued smiling when she looked down to Hermione.

"How is the planning coming, dear?" She asked Hermione sweetly, allowing Romilda to take a cautious sip of her tea in the absence of conversation. Ron handed her another tart when her hand reached out to search for the platter of them. He received a sweet smile for his efforts, before she concentrated on her tea again.

"Oh, not so bad I suppose." Hermione tried hedging around the conversation, glaring at Harry when he sniggered.

Mrs. Weasley looked to Harry, trying to find what was funny, "How far have you gotten dear? I know you had helped with Ginny and Harry's wedding, but I haven't heard much from you nor Fred." She wavered, waiting for one of her children to give her some information.

"Well, we picked colours," Hermione trailed off, looking around the table for help, but none came. "and the date."

"Oh, Fred, how could you distract her so much? She has things to do, not that you've helped her much, poor thing." Mrs. Weasley chastised her son, ignoring Ron and Harry's horribly concealed laughter and Hermione's blush.

Fred put on an indignant huff, "Mother! I will have you know, _I _planned the color and date. Mione has quite literally done nothing. You should be blaming her for distracting my genius, I'm obviously more qualified." Hermione scowled at him, and he got the message loud and clear, '_See if I distract you now, traitor.'_

"Oh Hermione Jean! We have to hurry before venues and cloths are taken by other couples! Hurry now child, tell me what you'll need and we'll go down to Diagon Alley to get them together." Mrs. Weasley accioed a quill and parchment, ready to take down notes for them. Fred couldn't help but snicker at Hermione's stricken face, as he knew damn well she had been trying to avoid his mother at all costs.

"Come on Crooks, let us leave Hermione to her planning, and you can go find gnomes in the garden. How's that sound?" Fred crooned sarcastically to the cat, who mewled in approval, launching himself from his cozy spot, and out the back door to the garden. Fred also stood, ready to leave the room, but Hermione snagged the back pocket of his trousers, dragging him back to her.

"Sit. Down." She growled, pulling him down to sit next to her once more. Harry didn't even try to hide his laughter now, full out smirking at his brother-in-law in trouble with the witch.

Fred tried one more last ditch effort, "But I'm half blind, how can you expect me to look through all of these? I'll get a headache," he pouted to her, giving her the best puppy eyes he could, leaning in for a kiss on her cheek. Hermione stopped him with a hand to his lips, and with a wave of her wand, his glasses were perched on the looming pile of magazines.

"Nice try Mr. Weasley, get to work."

Grumbling audibly, Fred slumped in his seat, pulling one of the magazines Hermione offered to him into his lap. Hermione didn't say anything else, but took his glasses up off the table, and placed them on the bridge of his nose for him, laying a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Don't want you to get a headache." Hermione says too sweetly, now the one to receive laughter from their family. Even his mother cracks a smile at his expense, but Fred just smiles back, for once rather happy to be the butt of the joke.

"Alright, both of you, tell me the colours." Mrs. Weasley commands, quill at the ready. Hermione gives Fred a nervous look, both ready for Molly Weasley to burst and die of a color overload.

"Er, we both actually picked one each, but I don't think you'll really approve, Molly." Hermione tried to tone down the necessity of the colors, but Mrs. Weasley was having none of it.

"Nonsense, dears, that sounds like a lovely idea. What have you chosen, Fred?"

"I picked a light blue, like Hermione's dress at the Yule Ball." Romilda cooed, patting Ron's elbow. Mrs. Weasley also seemed to like the idea, and noted it down before anyone could change their minds.

"Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley prodded.

"Yes, I decided on Fred's favourite colour," Romilda smiled, liking that idea as well. Mrs. Weasley was not as keen, as she knew exactly which color Hermione was referring to.

"Not, erm, _fuchsia_, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked hopefully, still not jotting down Hermione's colour choice.

"Yup. That's the one." Hermione stared at the lovely lady she would soon be related to, not blinking under the hopeful glare. Fred couldn't keep as straight a face, moving his glasses a bit to wipe his eyes. Harry finally seemed to notice _Fred_ was wearing glasses, frowning at him like he couldn't decide if they were real or not.

"How long have you had glasses?" Now Ron was looking at him strangely, squinting like he was trying to see what kind of prank this would be.

Fred goes a bit red, but mumbles sullenly, "Since I was a firstie at Hogwarts."

"How come I never saw you with them?" Harry asked, still frowning in confusion.

"Because George told him he looked like Percy, so he's never worn them. Next question Molly." Hermione asks, trying to bring the conversation away from Fred. Mrs. Weasley nodded, asking Hermione where they would be having the ceremony, in which Hermione quickly agreed it would be at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley became teary-eyed, writing down the details.

Ron decided he couldn't let it go either, "No, I've literally never seen these before. I thought George was kidding when he told me you were turning into Percy. I thought he just meant because you're around Hermione all the time."

Fed up, Fred glares across the table at the younger boys, glasses still perched on his nose, "All right, I wear them at home, away from everyone who can't drop the subject."

Everyone went silent for a moment before Harry piped up.

"They really just mean you're getting old,"

"Yeah, and mature."

A blast of pink is shot at both boys, and it takes Mrs. Weasley and Hermione ten minutes to stop the now greying hair from growing all over the younger boys' heads.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Hermione spent the rest of the day curled up on one of the couches, Ginny at her feet, and Angelina next to the red head. Tessa had joined them a few minutes ago, and was situated on the couch opposite, with Audrey sat primly next to her. Romilda was sat on her own, nursing a cup of tea slowly as she listened to the girl's chatter. Each lap was filled with two or more wedding magazines, and a notebook designated to each girl. Whenever one found an idea they liked, they would write a quick note, and spell it to another's notebook if they thought the other girl would enjoy it as well. Mrs. Weasley had banned any males from interrupting the process, at her wit's end with her children for interrupting all the wedding preparation needed.

Everything was going smoothly, until Audrey had the guts to tell Mrs. Weasley, she and Percy had decided to only go into the Ministry to sign and bind themselves into marriage. At first, Hermione was sure The Third Wizarding War was about to break out, but Ginny reminded her mother that the two would still be having some kind of dinner to celebrate. At that point, Tessa made a joke that she might give up and do the same, but quickly backtracked when Mrs. Weasley almost broke down.

So far, Hermione was confident she knew exactly what she wanted and had everything ready. Except, she didn't. And the thought hit her in the stomach, a shadow of the feeling the Cruciatus curse gave her.

"Molly, could I be excused for a moment?" She whispered politely, trying her hardest not to show her emotions. Mrs. Weasley allowed her to go, following her with her eyes as Hermione made her way up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. She wasn't sure which room he was in, or even who _he_ was at the moment. She just knew she needed someone, as soon as possible, whoever was closest.

Upon opening the door, Hermione sagged in relief when she found Fred, George, Harry and Ron all together for once, enjoying a game of Exploding Snap. George spotted her first, being the one facing the door.

"Hey Granger, had enough of dresses and frills?" Ron coughed out a laugh, aware of how much their mother loved wedding dresses. When he received no answer nor biting comeback, George gave her a worried look, causing Fred and Harry to spin around and watch her.

"I-I need…"

Fred looked horribly worried now, putting his hand down, only for them to pop and explode right away, making everyone at the table jump. "Hermione?"

"Can I- could you? No, could we-?" She was shaking now, from her fingers to her toes. All the boys jumped out of their seats, making a grab for her each. Fred tucked her into a hug when she reached her arms out, while Harry grabbed her hands. Ron and George moved her to one of the beds, where Fred sat her so close to him she was practically on his lap, while still allowing Harry to keep his grip on her. She was crying now, she could feel the tears hitting her cheeks, but she felt so numb with sudden dread she couldn't focus on feeling.

"Shh sweetheart, don't talk yet. Calm down for us first," Fred whispered into her hair, rocking her back and forth in comfort. Harry stayed close to her, already aware how long it would take her to stop without help. George looked rather scared, completely unsure what he was meant to do, while Ron kept a short distance away, like he was ready to tag one of the others out if necessary. The idea of it made Hermione stifle a giggle; having so many people jump to help was still a new experience for her.

"That was definitely a laugh, are you alright Hermione?" Harry asked, ducking his head to peer at her from between Fred's arms.

"Better," she mumbled, snuggling into the embrace she had wanted.

"What brought this on, may I ask?" Fred asked into her hair, trying to brush the strands away from his face.

"I finished planning our wedding."

"Great, glad that made you cry," he grumbled over her head, causing George to snicker at his twin's expense. Hermione shook her head, already exasperated, but secretly happy for the humour provided.

"Don't be ridiculous,"

"Ditto," Harry says to her, receiving odd looks from the Weasley's from the muggle terminology.

"I meant," Hermione continued, holding onto the hem of Fred's shirt, playing with the thread, "I finished planning, and was going over everything, making sure I had enough to go on,"

"Right, when have you done any different?" Ron mumbles, receiving an elbow from George.

"But then, I realized I hadn't planned for my parents to be here." Silence rang through the group, each too stunned to think of what to say to their stressed friend.

"Hermione, did they, have you checked on them? Since last May?" Harry asked slowly, unsure he would like the answer. Hermione nodded, but couldn't say anything about the subject. Surprising Harry, Ron was the one to answer.

"She sent an owl to the Ministry down in Australia, asking them to check on them. She got a letter back a bit after that, can't 'member when, but she wouldn't tell me what it said." He stared at Hermione, waiting eagerly or her to fill in the blanks. The rest of the room watched as well, waiting in silence. Hermione shuddered just thinking about it, but knew she would have to say eventually,

"They have a daughter. A new daughter, in a new home, with new memories, and a new life. I can't force their old memories onto them; it would hurt them, and confuse the-my, my sister." Hermione sniffled, trying to burrow further into her fiancé's chest. Harry looked crushed for her, but understood the sacrifice she was making was better for her family.

"I'm so sorry, love." Fred said finally, breaking the silence, creating a calmer environment for everyone to sit with Hermione as long as she needed them.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

**Weird ending, sorry about that. But I wanted this one out, so I could focus on other things and not leave you hanging **


	20. AN to explain new updates

**A/N: I posted this story last year, wanting to just get it out there. Since then, my writing style has changed a lot and my preference to the story line has moved. Because of this, it's been difficult for me to write new chapters. So, I'm rewriting this story, all over again. **

**Things may be omitted, somethings may change, or stay the same. But please, pleeeease, no one copy my story as it is now. I still worked hard on what's there, and it doesn't feel good when someone rips you off. **

**I love everyone that has been reading this, and reviewing so lovingly, and I hope and wish you will read the updated version when it's ready.**

**Love and kisses and hugs,**

**Ava Jane**


End file.
